The Legendary King
by The New Shinka
Summary: "Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!" "Huh? What's that noise?" "What? Don't you know? That's the King Engine. Any monster that hears it... never lives to see another day." Such infamy was deserved, for he was King, The Strongest Man On Earth.
1. Prologue 1: the beginning

Hi everyone, I'm new to all this fanfiction stuff, so I wanted to say hi

That was a small message for all the new ones who read this story, for the old ones I want to tell you that it is a pleasure that you still read my story

I will start with something simple to say, I am changing chapters 1 and 2 with the help of a new friend I made: **Transcended Potato**

He offered to help me rewrite the first 2 chapters and continue with the story itself, only I will be writing the chapters and he will only review them and tell me if he needs correction in something and help me correct it

A special thanks to him who is undoubtedly helping me with this story and in return I am helping him with his current story

Without further ado, let's begin!

* * *

**[A year before the series starts...]**

Under the cover of the blackness of night, a man is walking back to his home. He was a tall, large man with slightly tanned skin, blue eyes and straight blond hair that kept his hair up to his shoulders which also combed his neck. His notorious features were three vertical scars directly on his left eye, with sunken cheeks and a defined jaw line. He wore a black turtleneck sweater with long sleeves.

This man was King, an ordinary human that was recently designated with the title of S-Class and aside from his hero name of King, he even had countless titles for his 'monstrous strength', such as The World's Strongest Hero, Hero of Heroes, and The Strongest Man on Earth. Normally this would be cause for celebration but it wasn't for him.

At that moment, he was touching the scar in his eye and reminiscing on how he got it.

* * *

**[2 years before...]**

A younger king was nearly jumping for joy because the sequel of his favorite game had just released today and he managed to buy it.

"_Sigh..._ Today was a good day, a remaster of the original Doki Doki Sisters was released today and I managed to get a special copy of the game, nothing could possibly ruin my day today!" He said to himself, without realizing he jinxed himself.

Before he can realized what was happening, a tentacled monster appeared out of nowhere and started destroying the surroundings. The worst part? It was a famous monster that left close to no survivors whenever it appeared. Octoclaw Man.

He fell to the ground, too scared to do something and before he could even move, a clawed tentacle was shot towards him. Sheer instincts taking over, he only managed to barely dodge, which made it hit his eye instead, causing three wounds on his left eye.

"GYAHHHHHHH! MY EYE!"

He grabbed his eye in pain, falling to the ground.

"AHHHHHHH! S-SOMEONE HELP MEEEEEEE!" King screamed for help, his eyes closed in pain. Though he screamed for help, inwardly, he expected nothing. The monster appeared out of nowhere, the chances of a hero appearing to save the day was slim! Slimmer than the chances of another release of Doki-Doki Sisters before the end of the month!

Yet instead of death, King heard silence, and then there were loud crashing sounds, and the sound of a fight. And before he even registered that, a loud 'pow' was heard, and then the sounds of fighting stopped.

Then, and only then did he realize, a hero saved him! Thanking his lucky stars, he made a note to write a letter to the hero that saved him! But who could be the hero that saved him, the hero association was created recently, who could have saved him?

"Hey, calm down." Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice was heard. That wasn't the voice of any pro hero he knew...

"I beat the monster. Is your eye okay?" He heard the hero ask. "The cut isn't that deep. Try opening it."

Following the hero's instruction, King slowly opened his eyes, and both his eyes could see! He expected to have been blind in one eye after this, even if he did survive. What hand of luck pulled him to not only survive this monster attack, but keep both eyes, no less!?

"W-who are you?" King asked, as the voice was not of any hero he recognized. Turning to his savior, he saw not one of the heroes of the Heroes Association dressed in their flashy costumes, but instead...

"Me? Um... I wanna be a hero for fun." He said. "If a hero arises, it'll probably be me." It was an ordinary looking man. Wearing a blue tracksuit, he didn't even look like a hero in the first place! Hell, he looked like an ordinary civilian! But looking closer, that wasn't the only thing.

"You're hurt!" King said to his savior. He had gotten scratched once over his left eye and screamed his pants off- this man was basically wounded all over!

"These are mere scratches." His savior said, as if the wounds on his body were nothing at all.

"Ha ha! Today was a great victory!" The man said happily, walking off before King could say anything.

**[End of flashback...]**

* * *

That was the only time he ever saw that man. He was so shocked by him beating the monster he couldn't even properly thank him, and even after he got back up, he tried to find him, but to no avail. The Hero Registry didn't have someone like him. Chances were that he was what they called an 'Unregistered Hero', vigilantes that didn't register with the Heroes Association, and did hero work on their own.

They said that they were nothing more than just costumed weirdos, yet King knew better. That man, that 'Unregistered Hero' was the one that saved him!

After that, his luck was got worse and worse, he continued to encounter monsters and always ran away before someone else defeated the monster and he was the one that got the credit for killing the monster.

He tried to tell somebody, anybody that he wasn't the one that killed the monster, but his cowardice always got the better of him, and the simply remained silent on the matter.

And today was the culmination of all the unearned credit he got. An S-Class certificate.

He didn't really want to be a Hero but the money was nice... Still, he couldn't muster the courage to tell them that they had picked the wrong person to promote as an S-Class Hero. Time and time again he mustered the courage to try and tell them, yet every time he stepped out of his apartment, his determination fell apart like a poorly-built Gundam model, barely standing for three minutes before collapsing into an inordinate mess.

But when he got into his apartment after moving from his parents' house, he noticed a new figure in the obscurity of the night in the middle of his apartment and he panicked.

"H-hey, look, I don't want any trouble, okay?" He stammered while trying to turn on the light "I-I didn't want the title of 'The World's Strongest Man', nor did I want to be an S-Class hero, alright?" King said, assuming that this was someone that was unsatisfied about him being an S-Class Hero. "We don't need to fight at all, how about we discuss this amicably?"

Before he could pass out from hear, the lights suddenly turned on, and what- or rather who he saw shocked him.

"Hahahahaha! Ah, I was that coward, wasn't I? Sure takes me back." That person laughed boisterously, yet King could not believe his eyes. This man in his apartment, the one laughing at his cowardice was...

Himself.

"What!?" King said, confused. He was very clearly himself, he could feel himself there, yet for some reason, there was a complete mirror image of himself, standing in front of him right there!

Now that he took a closer look, that person didn't look exactly like himself... he looked a little bit older, his hair seemed longer and he was more well-built. Unlike his current self where he just had a large frame, this person, or rather himself, had proper muscles to his body.

"Yeah, I know, nice to meet you, or well, myself." He said, snickering. "To be honest, I'm still not quite used to this." He said, raising a hand to shake hands.

"Um, nice to meet you?" King said, shaking hands with the person that seemed to be himself.

"Right, right. Now with the pleasantries out of the way, let's get down to business." The older, more mature King said with a serious face that intimidated the younger King. If he didn't know that this person was himself, he'd say that he was rather intimidating. Now he knew why the Heroes Association would assume that he was the one to defeat the monsters around him.

"I'll explain this briefly. The future world's fate is completely dependent on you right now. If you do nothing and let events happen as they should, billions will die." The older King said, already making tea for himself.

The younger King, being the person that he is, did the only logical thing to do.

Panic.

"What!? No! That's not possible! I'm just a normal person, how can I save the world!? No, no, no, no, no! I don't wanna die! I'm too young! I haven't even played all the games I wanted yet!" The younger King panicked after learning this from the older King.

"Hahahaha! I could not have arrived sooner, it seems." The older King laughed, as he calmed the younger King down. And by 'calm', the older King slapped the younger King back to reality. It didn't have a lot of strength, but it was quite a sharp pain.

"Calm down, that's only if you do nothing. But I'm here for that reason." The older King said calmly, sipping the tea. "Hmm, it's more bitter than I expected. Maybe too much tea powder?"

"But how am I going to stop the apocalypse from happening? I'm just a weak, useless ordinary human that has never even fought before." King said, demoralized. It was true, despite his large frame and intimidating face, he never fought anyone before, much less be strong enough to be considered a hero!

"Hmph. Let me ask you something, then." The older King said suddenly.

"Have you never wanted to be the hero in legends, the one they speak of so much?"

"Have you never heard your fans cheers, and thought to yourself, 'I want to become like that man in the stories'?"

"Have you never once thought about making those false stories true? To be a superhuman that saves humanity from peril?"

"Have you never... not once..."

"Thought of becoming strong?"

The words the older King said woke up the younger King, as he realized that he indeed wanted to become that strong person that everyone thought him to be. Even though he loathed his title, sometimes, he would daydream that he was that incredible superhuman that saved the day from monsters. To say that he never thought about becoming strong... was an utter lie that wouldn't fool a two-year old child.

Who wouldn't dream about becoming stronger?

But as his spirit rose, it was just as quickly dampened by the realization that he was an ordinary human.

"I know what you're thinking." The older King said. "But in the future, I, and I mean you, gained a power that made you worthy of that title. At that moment, you truly became 'The World's Strongest Man'. A power so strong and invincible that had you unlocked it earlier, Saitama-bro would still be with me."

The younger King was amazed at the new information, but he noticed an unfamiliar name.

"Who's Saitama?"

"Hmm... how long has it been since you were awarded the S-Class title?" The older King asked.

"Just this afternoon. I just only went to the Heroes Association headquarters to get my photo taken." The younger King said.

"I see, so you haven't met him, I suppose." The older King said. "Saitama is the person that saved you from that octopus monster. We met him sometime in the future, a year later, if I'm not mistaken."

"I-I see... but then how did he die?" The younger King asked.

"Hmph." The older King's originally calm face then turned into a scowl that scared the younger King. "Because of that damned self-proclaimed 'God'."

* * *

**{Narration by King (Older)...}**

It all started with the kidnapping of the son of some Heroes Association executive. We, the S-Class Heroes were supposed to rescue the boy from some Monster's Association. It was going well, and even though I was there, I was lucky I didn't get killed by some random monster. In fact, it was all going so well... too well.

The Monster's Association even had many Dragon-level threat monsters that gave even the top heroes a run for their money. I could list down a few for your future reference.

Homeless Emperor, reported by Zombieman to be a regular human that claimed to have been bestowed power by an entity known as 'God'. After his defeat, Homeless Emperor suddenly died, having his power taken away by said entity.

Black Sperm, a splitting being that contained a vast number of cells in its body that can act as extra lives for itself, and can shape-shift into different shapes with it's additional cell copies. It can even merge into superior forms. The time I faced it, it claimed to have over 11 trillion cells in its body.

Elder Centipede, a massive centipede-like entity. It was almost defeated by Blast sometime in the past and joined only to defeat Blast. The only advantage it has is just it's massive size and hard carapace. It was no problem for Saitama, though.

Phoenix Man. According to Child Emperor, had he not defeated it, it might've been the biggest threat. It can resurrect and gain more power as it 'dies' and 'rebirths'. The only way Child Emperor defeated it was when he tricked it into ripping its costume, the source of its power, and then killing it when it was powerless.

Psykos, a human psychic that was almost comparable to Tatsumaki, though it was after she drank an ESP-enhancing drink. But even in her normal state, she is a rather powerful psychic that can outclass other psychics like Tatsumaki's little sister, Fubuki.

And then, the reputed 'Monster King', Orochi. I don't know its capabilities for myself, only that it could breathe fire and shoot lasers from its mouth. Saitama managed to punch it into pieces, but it regenerated and then fused with Psykos, tremendously increasing the latter's psychic powers.

And even with all that, there was a threat that we didn't even think would appear on that day.

Garou, the Human Monster. He was a martial arts prodigy that was formerly the top disciple under Silver Fang, and during the battle with the Monster's Association, he somehow managed to mutate, becoming a monster in the process. He was strong, so monstrously strong that he wiped the floor with all the S-Class heroes on scene. Only after Saitama showed up was he defeated.

After that event, some S-Class heroes like Child Emperor, Metal Bat and Superalloy Darkshine retired from the Heroes Association and joined a new group afterwards. The Heroes Association might've even been overthrown... had the God-Level threat not appeared.

The entity was a being that proclaimed itself to be 'God', and he came down to Earth with his grotesque 'angels' after claiming that his 'messiah' wasn't enough to eradicate the human race.

After the entirety of City Q was effortlessly taken over by that 'God', only then did all of humanity join together to fight against the threat.

One by one, the cities were conquered by the 'angels', millions of humans enslaved and billions more dead, the heroes fell and everything seemed lost when the rest of the S-class heroes, except me, fell.

Tatsumaki was defeated after a fierce battle with a legion of 432 'angels', and after her defeat, her mind was crippled by one of the 72 'archangels', mentally disabled to the point she was no more than a two-year old toddler.

Atomic Samurai fought against a group of 36 'angels', but fell when he tried to protect a shelter full of civilians until they evacuated. When he was caught, his arms were cut off by his own sword, and his own disciples' corpses, worn by the angels as a mockery of him, executed him with their own swords.

Silver Fang died protecting the entirety of City Q from the entire invading legion of 'angels', and finally perished after three 'archangels' worked together to kill him.

The fates of the other S-Class heroes were too gruesome to further discuss. Pig God was eaten alive by hundreds of 'angels', Superalloy Darkshine was constantly resurrected and killed in the 'arena' for the 'archangels's amusement, Child Emperor became a slave of one of the 12 'Spears of Heaven' and used as a 'pleasure thrall'. I need not say what happened to the rest of the heroes.

In a single day, more than 75% of Earth was taken over by 'God' and its 'angels'. Cities A to F were the only ones that were unconquered.

There seemed to be no way of fighting back, but a glimmer of hope appeared when the secret weapon of the Heroes Association appeared, the Rank 1 S-Class hero, Blast, appeared to stop the threat, yet after a long battle with 'God' that lasted a whole day, Blast fell.

I didn't know what took Saitama so long, but when he arrived... everything changed.

He single-handedly liberated all of cities G to U, excluding cities Q, L and P within two days, and on the third day, he fought with that 'God' on his own.

I was there, you know, at my apartment that was miraculously untouched. All of City M was taken over, yet the 'angels' had left my apartment alone for some reason. I was alone and piss-scared in my own apartment, yet I managed to lay eyes on when Saitama was battling that 'God'.

It was a slaughter. All the 'angels' that the 'God' had sent died in a single hit, sometimes killing dozens with a single punch. The 'archangels' were no problem, either. A single punch was all that was needed. It took Saitama seven seconds to kill all the 'Spears of Heaven', and in three punches, no less.

I saw when Saitama beat 'God' down to its knees. Every punch Saitama gave was a tremendous blow to 'God', yet Saitama was unfazed when that 'God' attacked him back. It was as if there was nothing that could harm him. Yet, despite how effortlessly which he beat that 'God', I had never seen Saitama so angry before. It wasn't the frustration of losing in a game, but it was sheer... rage.

Yet then, even then, that damned 'God' had a trick up its sleeves. He took out a weird black sphere and threw it at Saitama, and when Saitama punched it...

He disappeared.

That 'God' laughed, saying that he managed to trick Saitama into punching that sphere, which transported him at least 81,000 parallel universes away.

At that moment, when I saw Saitama disappear, and that 'God' laughing arrogantly, I didn't feel fear. I didn't feel despair. At that moment, I didn't feel anything. I just felt an emptiness inside me, and when I realized it, my heart was beating so hard and so fast that it attracted that 'God' to my position.

When that damned 'God' appeared in front of me, he simply laughed at me, saying 'So this is the famous King? I left your apartment alone in fear of your reputation, yet what do I see? A normal human with heart problems! How hilarious! I avoided a simple building just because of you, but it turns out that it was nothing after all!'

Even when he was laughing away, I felt no sorrow, no fear, nothing. My heart just kept beating, and beating, and beating, and finally...

I obtained it. The power to defeat that damned 'God'. Power was coursing through my veins, and I had never felt such strength before.

I barely realized my newfound power until that 'God' suddenly panicked, saying 'What!? How!? You had 'that power' the whole time!? So you were trapping me, tricking me to get nearer to you!? Shit!"

That 'God' ran away as fast as it could, and when I realized it, I was running towards it with such speed I caught up to that 'God' in less than three seconds. When I got my hands on it, my emptiness was then replaced with sheer rage, as if all of Saitama's anger was transferred to me at the last moment. I beat that 'God' with my fists, but took care not to kill it so fast. I wanted that being to suffer for what it did.

And after I was satisfied, and when that damned 'God' was begging me to kill it...

I ended it's pathetic existence.

And on that day, I freed all of Earth and drived the 'angels' to extinction.

**{End of King (Older)'s Narration...}**

* * *

"T-that's amazing! But wait, s-so Saitama didn't die?" The younger King asked, amazed at what he heard from the older King. If Saitama was so strong he brought that 'God' to the brink of defeat and only managed to transport him away due to a dirty trick, how strong was he?"

"No. As far as I know, Saitama-bro wasn't dead when that 'God' transported him away. Before I killed that 'God', I asked him where he sent Saitama. It said that it didn't know, that the orb was actually meant to be an escape device to somewhere far away, like literal universes away. I tried my best to find where he went afterwards but to no avail. I couldn't find him, even after 50 years of searching."

"I see... wait, 50? If I'm 28 right now, and I'm 29 next year..." The younger King looked at the older King with shock in his eyes. "You're 79!?"

The older King laughed. "146, actually. I spent much longer elsewhere."

"B-but you look barely any older than myself right now!"

"Well, let's just say that my newfound power has a lot of side-benefits, as well."

"W-what is my 'newfound power', anyway?" The younger King finally asked.

The older King smiled. "Did you ever wonder why your heartbeat was so loud? That it was normal?"

That put the younger King in deep thought. "_That's true... I always wondered why my heart beat so loudly, I always assumed it was me being so scared that my heart beat just that much more loudly!"_

"Y-you don't mean to say..." The younger King realized what the older King was pointing at.

"Yep, your special power..." The older King placed a fist directly above the younger King's heart. "...is this little thing over here."

"It's a simple power. I call it the 'King's Engine'. During the time I was still weak, the civilians around me would assume that my strong heartbeats were me in battle-mode, and thus they named it the 'King's Engine.' My power right now is basically something like that, as for every beat of my heart, my strength increases exponentially, like from ten, to a hundred, to ten thousand, and so on. I don't know the specific values, but my strength just increases like crazy after every beat."

**Editor's Note: Just imagine the function y=x². His power is squared for every beat of the King's Engine.**

"With every beat, my strength rises to the point I was basically like Saitama. With just 2 beats I could kill any average monster in one punch, and in five beats, I could destroy the planet with a single touch."

"B-but wouldn't that make daily living so much harder?" The younger King asked.

"No worries, the effect cancels out when the King Engine stops." The older King explained. "After a while, the King Engine stops and your power slowly drops until you're back to a normal human again."

The younger King was amazed, but he noticed a simple flaw.

"But, wouldn't that leave you open to surprise attacks?" The younger King asked.

"It would." The older King said simply. "But the simple solution would be to increase your base power without the King's Engine."

"You just need to train your body, simple as that. That way, you don't need to constantly rely on the 'King's Engine.'"

"I-I guess that makes sense... but why can't I just use it normally to kill monsters?" The younger King asked.

"Well, of course you can. But aside from being weak to surprise attacks..." The older King looked amused, as he moved in closer to the younger King. "For every power in this world, there's always a trade-off."

"Like a car engine when it's used too much, it can be damaged if you use it too much." The older King said. "When I just got it, I immediately used it to kill every last 'angel' on Earth. For five years I've been killing monsters without a second thought by using the 'King's Engine'. But after that=, I suddenly found out that sometimes, my 'King Engine' would go berserk, and not stop, even after I've killed the monster."

"The problem is that when I don't deactivate it, I will experience such a great surge of energy that I'd be able to destroy an entire solar system if I wasn't careful. So when that happens, I am forced to stay completely still, until the 'King Engine' wears off. Otherwise, not just the Earth, but the entire solar system, and if it doesn't wear off in a minute, you'd be able to completely annihilate an entire galaxy. The Milky Way, the nearby neighboring galaxies, reduced to space-dust."

"Even if I do manage to get through that without destroying the Earth, I will experience nausea and headaches afterwards, similar to when you stand up too fast. But aside from that, it would theoretically shorten my lifespan, but as the 'King Engine' brings me what seems to be eternal youth, I don't really know where my lifespan would end."

"For simplicity's sake, just think of the 'King's Engine' as a super-powerful steroid that boosts all your physical abilities, but if you use it too much, instead of causing adverse effects to yourself, you just become too strong."

"I see... wait, now that I think about it..." The younger King realized something. "Now that you're here... why don't you solve everything?"

"Heh. Let me tell you something, young me." The older King said. "You need to do things for yourself, too. If somehow, there's some threat that appears down the line that needs two 'King Engines' to solve, you'll be happy that you trained."

"Wait, there's a threat that needs two of us to defeat?" Younger King asked, panicking.

"Ah, no. I said that as an example." Older King said, relieving the younger King. "But still, I expected this long ago, so..." The older King then took out something out of his pocket.

"I brought all the future releases of Doki-Doki Sisters. Every time you get stronger, I'll give you the next edition."

"So when do we start?" The younger King said, a rare appearance of determination in his eyes.

"Heh, I knew it. Then again, I know myself better than anyone else." The older King said, amused.

"Oh, right, just asking, but how did you travel back in time?" The younger King asked.

"Ah, it's a simple affair, really. I just beat up some old titan guy until he agreed to send me back in time." The older King said. "He called himself Chronos or something."

"I-I see..." The younger King said, not expecting the way his older self came back to the past.

"So anyway, this'll be the main thing helping you get stronger." The older King said, taking out a card from his pocket, and handing it to King. "Just place it on any door or wall, and you'll get it."

The younger King took the card and read the words written on it.

"Time room?"

* * *

Hey, I hope you liked it, as you could read in the part of the room of time, you will have a few elements of other anime but not the big deal, I hope you enjoyed it

That was the prologue, any criticism will be welcome, even the negative ones.

I hope you liked it, any questions you can do, just like any advice. English is not my original language, so I would like to see what you think.

**Editor's Note: I edited the chapter. Hope it's better.**


	2. Chapter 2: eventos inesperados

First thing. I update this chapter and the prologue, for the old there are **MANY** things that were changed, you can see it in detail.

Second. I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my story, if you can comment on something I will always take the trouble to read it.

Third. There will be changes in this world of One Punch Man. The ones that I can assure you are:

-The magic will be real, so the A-Class hero Rank 07 Magic Trick Man will do real magic and there will be different types and ways of doing it, you will see.

-There will be changes with the S-class heroes, one of which if I can tell you is that they will be stronger and will probably make them fight with King and probably take a full chapter for them.

Fourth and last. I will try to make a fight scene, any complaint or suggestion will be welcome uwu

Any suggestion, in the comments please.

Leaving that aside. Let's start

* * *

.

.

.

"Time room? Is this..." The younger King started.

"Yep. A little something I 'borrowed' from that Chronos guy, as well." The older King said. "Well, it was easier to 'convince' him to give it to me, compared to sending me back in time."

"Honestly, he gave up that little card after what, seven, eight punches? Sending me back? Well..." The older King said, his eyes trailing off. "Let's just say I had to do quite a bit of work."

"R-right..." The younger King said, still not expecting how the older him solved problems. Sure, sometimes he wished he could beat up bad guys with actual strength, and he was about to get that, but for personal gain...? He didn't turn out to be some kind of evil final boss in the future... right!?

"I know what you're thinking, and it's not that. Trust me, the guy was evil already, I beat the shit out of him until he wouldn't attack humanity anymore." The older King explained. "Hell, I think I'd rank him alongside that 'God' fellow that tried to take over Earth. Still, I was absolutely sure he wouldn't be able to do harm to humanity in any way shape or form before I left."

"I-I see." The younger King said. "How did you make sure of that?"

"Simple. I made it so that if he attacked humans in any way, he'd die immediately." The older King said.

"How?"

"Magic."

"Real magic?"

"There's a lot of unknown phenomena in the world, and I can't really care less. If it works, it works. I adopted that mindset 40 years in the future." The older King shrugged. "And about magic, I may be 146 years old, but I'm still not very good at magic, so don't go expecting me to teach you much."

"Real magic exists?" The younger King said, surprised that real, actual magic existed.

"Magic is just unexplained science. Maybe another 30 years in the future when Child Emperor masters it, he'll find some real, tangible science behind it."

"Child Emperor knows magic? Wait, he's still alive in the future?" The younger King asked. If he wasn't mistaken, wasn't Child Emperor 9 right about now? If his future self was 146, and he was 28 now...

"I just went to his 127th birthday a week ago- well, a week before I came back, so yes. He's still alive." The older King said. "Apparently, that 'Spear Of Heaven' that owned Child Emperor before I liberated all of Earth from the 'angels' had placed a mark of sorts on Child Emperor, making him, like me, effectively ageless. Other than that, he also retains his youthful appearance, so despite being 127, he still looks like he's 11 years old."

"That's amazing..." The younger King asked. "But aside from that, who else survived?"

"Well, every single S-Class hero except for me lost, and the 'angels' weren't really big on mercy, either, so... aside from me, Child Emperor and Tatsumaki, all the old S-Class heroes are dead, and the replacement S-Classes... well, I'll say it frankly. They can't hold a candle to their predecessors."

"Tatsumaki's still alive?" The younger King asked.

"Yep. After I fixed her mind by coercing one of the surviving 'archangels', she went back to normal. When I said they crippled her mind... it didn't do anything to lessen her psychic powers, so she was essentially a baby with the power to uproot cities if someone didn't change her diaper fast enough." The older King chuckled. "It was amusing to see her flip over when she got back to her usual self. She basically threatened city-wide destruction if anyone talked about how she was before her mind was fixed."

"Afterwards, she's back to her usual, haughty self that looked down on weak heroes, but she's... less arrogant. I think that loss humbled her." The older King said. "And for some reason, she ages very slowly. You know how she's 27 now but looks like she's 12?"

"You mean..."

"She's 145 but looks like she's 32. And yes, she's still alive." The older King said. "Her younger sister, too."

"Wait, her too? But I thought she looked like any normal 21 year old?"

"She 'awakened' her innate talent afterwards, as well, increasing her psychic output. She's an S-Class now, but still nowhere near Tatsumaki's level of strength." The older King said.

"I see... So how does this 'time room' work, exactly?" The younger King asked, looking at the card in his hands.

"You just place them on any wall, door, any surface, really. As long as it's at least 2 by 2 meters. The entry itself is just 2 by 1 meters wide, but well, it's for convenience's sake." The older King explained. "Also, no need to worry about the thing breaking. According to that Chronos, the thing's unbreakable. Well, unbreakable as long as it isn't the universe collapsing in on itself or something."

"Wow... so is there a time limit or person limit to the room?" The younger King asked.

"Nope. It works like any regular room, and person limit... well, the only limits the amount of people that can fit inside the room, so... basically infinite."

"The room is infinitely big?"

"Not all of them. Some of them are just regular rooms. The one on the end of it, however, is basically infinite."

"Is there like a power source needed for the room? There isn't any crazy restriction to the room at all?"

"I've solved the power situation already, and no, anyone can go in. It's just a basic room. The only real difference is that the time flow in the room is much faster, one year in the room being an equivalent of a day on the outside."

"What happens if you'd say... leave the door open?"

"Well, if you're in the room, everyone on the outside moves 365 times slower. If you're outside of the room, everyone in the room'd move 365 times faster than they usually do. Simple math, really."

"But what if I put one hand in the time room and wave it around?"

"Ah, there's a time-decompression chamber you have to enter before you get into the room, so nothing, really. Just imagine the entryway of a normal house. After you close the door, your time is sped up to the same time-scale as the room, and then you can enter the room. It's like glass, though, so you can still see through and look at the effects of really, really slow time."

"But if I-"

"Right, we're wasting daylight. Let's get to work, shall we?" The older King clapped his hands, silencing any further questions the younger King had. "We can talk while we're training."

"So do I just... put this anywhere that's a surface?" The younger King asked. "Do I need to leave it on for a few seconds, hold it in place, or..."

"It'll be easier if I just show you." The older King said, taking the card and placing it on a wall. Immediately after, the wall behind the card started to morph and form into a door.

"It sticks on its own, so you don't need to bother. The card is also removable even while people are inside, so it works as a emergency bunker for civilians and a storage device, as well. The only way to take it off is when the person that originally stuck it on takes it off." The older King explained, opening the door to the alleged 'time room'.

Looking through, the only thing the younger King could notice was a glass room with an empty corridor on the other side with doors that branched off elsewhere, and at the end, there was a large doorway that lead to what seemed to be an infinite white expanse.

Both Kings stepped in, and the door at the back closed, and three seconds later, the glass around them glowed green, as the door opened. The older King stepped out first, followed by the younger King.

"Right, now in here, for every year we spend, it's only one day on the outside. Meaning, even if we spent a whole month in here, we'd have only spent two hours on the outside. Also, an added bonus is that you don't grow older in here. You can increase your strength, skills, etc. for a couple million years, but you still wouldn't age a day."

"That's amazing... so what're in those rooms?" The younger King asked, pointing at the rooms in the hallway.

"Ah, I spent some time re-decorating the place before I went back in time. This is the sleeping area." The older King opened the first door to the right, with two double beds, a dressing table, mirror, etc. It was like King's old bedroom in his flat, but slightly larger. There were also two beds instead of one.

"What? The 'King Engine' might grant agelessness and overwhelming power, but sleep is still important. At least, until you learn the magic that allows you to literally absorb energy from the surroundings. I know that, but I'd rather get proper shut-eye." The older King said.

"And this one's just the bathroom." The older King then opened the door on the left, to reveal a rather nice bathroom. It was definitely better than the one in his flat, but it wasn't anything too extravagant. And like the bedroom, there was two of everything.

"The other two are just really large rooms. I filled one with training equipment, and the other's completely empty, with the exception of some cooking appliances." The older King said nonchalantly.

"And this... is the training room." The older King said, walking into the infinite white expanse. "It's literally infinitely big, and can go for basically ever. And if you wander too far from the entry, you can just summon the entrance to your location."

"And the best part..." The white expanse suddenly morphed before their very eyes, and in its place was something familiar to both Kings.

"Isn't this... City Z?" The younger King recognized the scenery, as right in front of them was the fence that separated the residential area of City Z and the abandoned area. He had only been here a few times to win gaming tournaments.

"Yep. Saitama-bro used to live here." The older King said, breaking the lock on the gate, and walking in.

"Hey, isn't that-"

"Don't worry. This isn't the real world, it's just a very accurate simulation. Well, not really a simulation. Everything you see is real, just not the one in reality. It's more of a... mimicry." The older King explained.

"And for your first training..." The older King then walked in front of a wide road. "...Is to defeat that thing."

Suddenly, in front of them both, a figure appeared. It was a reptilian-looking man with a long stretchy tongue and green scales.

"Woah!? Who's that!?" The younger King asked, shocked at the sudden appearance of a monster.

"That's one of the monsters that I intimidated into surrendering before I obtained this power. I met some large robot soon after and though I ran, I met Saitama-bro afterwards." The older King said in reminiscence.

"And... my task is to defeat it?" The younger King asked, unsure about this.

"It's literally just some random Wolf-level threat. Just fight like your life depends on it." The older King encouraged, literally pushing the younger King towards the monster.

"Woah! Wait! Aren't you gonna teach me how to unlock the 'King Engine' yet!?" The younger King asked.

"Well, the thing is, I'm not really sure how I managed to unlock it, and though I have a few theories, one thing I regretted was not increasing my skill in combat sooner. The 'King's Engine' just amplifies base strength, and does absolutely nothing to teach you how to properly fight. So what better way to train than to fight a mysterious being?"

"Are you sure about this!?" The younger King asked, still highly unsure.

"Don't worry. I may not be good at magic, but I can do some quick healing spells if things get too dicey. But trust your instincts. It's just a Wolf-level threat, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to take them down, really!"

"A-alright... aaargh!" The younger King charged at the mysterious being, intending to take it down.

Suddenly having the wind knocked out of him, the younger King realized that the reptilian being had shot its tongue directly at King's chest with the force of a professional boxer's punch.

While King was down on the ground catching his breath, the reptilian mysterious being spared no time as it lunged at King.

"Woah!" King barely dodged out of the way, running away from the mysterious being that was ruthlessly chasing King with its tongue.

"Focus! Just calm down and think things through. There's a logical and simple way to do things, and taking down monsters is no different!" The older King advised from the sidelines. "It's just a Wolf-Level small-fry, even nobodies can take them down!"

_"Calm down!? As if! I'm being chased around by a mysterious being! Is he sure this is safe!? The thing looks like it's ready to tear me apart and eat me for dinner!" _King thought while frantically running away from the mysterious being. "_Alright, deep breaths... calm down, calm down! Think, King! How are you going to take him out...?"_

Suddenly, King had an idea.

_"Running isn't the best option, as that prehensile tongue of its can chase me down to who knows where. I can't tell what's it's range, and I won't be able to harm it from afar, so the logical conclusion would be to..." _Dodging another tongue strike, King then rushed straight towards the mysterious being, and landed a punch at the mysterious being's gut.

"_Right! It keeps attacking me with it's tongue, and while its tongue is outstretched, it can't fully control the movements of its tongue until it 'reels' it back in! While that, it's exposed!"_

Yet contrary to King's expectations, the mysterious being didn't seem fazed, and in fact landed a punch on King itself, stunning him. The mysterious being then pushed King back with such strength that when King collided with a wall, it cracked on impact, and King could also feel a few other things broken.

"Don't worry about wounds! I can heal you afterwards, don't forget! Ignore your pain, just win!" The older King further advised on the side.

"_Easy for him to say, fuck, that hurts!" _King thought, a hand over his ribs. Yep, there were definitely a few broken ribs in there. He'd be surprised if he didn't also have some internal bleeding.

_"I guess I should've expected it, mysterious beings get a boost in strength after transforming from human to monster, so it'll be obvious he's stronger than an average human being!"_

"You're thinking logically and critically, that's true. But you're not thinking ruthlessly! That's a monster you're dealing with, no liberties, no holds barred, nothing held back! Just think of the best way to kill it!" The older King suddenly said.

"Wait... that's right. It's a mysterious being, what am I doing, trying to fight it with my fists only...?" King suddenly had an epiphany. King rushed towards the monster yet again, and when the monster raised its guard-

King swept the legs of the mysterious being, causing it to fall. And while the monster was stunned by the sudden attack, King gouged out its over-sized eyes with both hands, blinding it. While the monster was stunned about getting its eyes gouged out, King looked around, picked up the nearest manhole cover, and started beating the monster to death.

The mysterious being tried to attack back with its tongue, but it was blocked by the manhole cover King was holding. King wasted no time and immediately pulled the tongue out as far as he could, and started smashing on it with the manhole cover.

The mysterious being's tongue was rendered useless, and it was also completely blind. Even so, the one advantage it still held was its superior physical strength.

Jumping back before the mysterious being had a chance to get its scaly hands on him, King got a fair distance away, judging his next move. As the mysterious being was blind, it could only look around wildly for an opponent it could not see.

King suddenly noticed a broken stop sign on one side, and limped towards it. His broken ribs stopped him from doing any more running, the previous tackle was the last straw, and any more running would only be detrimental to King.

As King approached the stop sign, the mysterious being suddenly charged at King's general direction. After listening to King's footsteps, it could tell where he was and ran towards the stop sign.

Yet, as it was blind, it could not see when King had already reached the stop sign, and had aimed the sharp end at the monster's torso. As it approached closer, King jammed the stop sign's jutted end directly into the monster's chest, the momentum of the monster's charge further pushing the wound deeper.

The monster raised a hand to grab King, yet before it reached him, it died on the stop sign.

Overcome with exhaustion, the adrenaline rush fading, and the pain of his broken ribs and internal bleeding hitting him all at once, King could only lie down on the concrete pavement, looking up at the sky. Now that he noticed it, it wasn't the same sky as the real world, it was the same lifeless white the room was previously dyed in. Come to think of it, how was the room lit up, anyway? There was no light source!

"Heh, looks like you're getting it." The older King said, walking towards King. "You did pretty well for your first fight, and you were disadvantaged, even. Though you're my past self, I have to give it to you, that was some good fighting."

"If *huff* I wasn't so wounded right now *huff* I'd punch you in the face." King said through gasps. "Heal me up already, my ribs are broken, and I think I'm bleeding internally."

"Ah, nothing that serious. You can heal up normally, just lie down a bit, you'll be fine." The older King said. "If it's something like wounded organs, a punctured lung, etc., then yeah, I'll heal you up with some spells. But you just need to lie down a bit. Don't worry, I'll dress your wounds properly. I learnt first aid some time after I became the Rank 1 S-Class hero."

"For being the *huff* Rank 1 S-Class hero *huff* and my future self... *huff* you're a massive dick, you know that?" King said, before losing consciousness.

"Heh, being called a dick by my past self..." The older King smiled wryly. "Well, I better get the med-kit. I hope I didn't forget the blood-plasma..."

* * *

**[12 hours later...]**

"Urgh... where..." King awoke in one of the beds, noticing the bandages on him and some empty blood bags on the tray on the tables beside him. Damn, his future self wasn't kidding when he said he learnt first aid. Didn't it take professionals to treat these kinds of wounds or something?

"Ah, you're finally up." The older King walked in, a cup of coffee in hand and a glass of reddish-pink liquid in the other.

"How long was I out?" King asked.

"12 hours, give or take." The older King said, setting down the glass of reddish-pink liquid and sipping his coffee. "You should've been up after 4 hours, but seeing as we left late at night, it makes sense you just slept through while you were out."

"Huh, did I grow to be a coffee person in the future?" King asked. Even now, he wasn't really a coffee kind of guy.

"Well, I grew to like it after one employee offered me a cup. I still hate black coffee, though." The older King said. "By the way, drink that liquid. It'll help with healing those wounds."

King took the glass of liquid and drank a mouthful. _Disgusting. _It was way too sweet, it was as if someone took an entire ice-cream truck, bakery, and sweet shop and condensed it into a single glass of liquid.

It wasn't even the good kind of sweet, it was the nauseating kind. Like those fake cherries on a birthday cake, or those colorful chunks of hardened swill they called 'sweets'. How Child Emperor could even stomach those on a daily basis was something he couldn't understand.

"The fuck is in here?" King asked, retching after just a single gulp of that horrid liquid.

"I have no clue. I can't do anything about the taste, either. When Child Emperor created it, the taste is all natural, no additives, no sugar, no nothing. Something about the chemicals and substances in there just create that utterly disgusting combination of sweetness." The older King explained, shuddering at the sight of King swallowing the reddish-pink liquid.

"Also, every attempt to minimize the sweetness neutralizes its healing properties. So all we can do is stomach it and hope we don't puke it out after. Child Emperor seems to not care and keeps it as a sort of painkiller-regeneration mixture."

"But how, though? It's like, the worst possible combination of the overwhelming sweetness of those candies, the gooey consistency of those fake caramels, and the sheer taste of its _artificiality..._ how does he even stomach it?"

"Haven't you seen how much candy he eats? Like, almost every time he does hero work, does commercials, etc., he always has that sickening lollipop on him."

"Do I really need to drink all of it, though?" King asked, looking at the reddish-pink liquid in disgust.

"Well, can you feel its effects?" The older King smiled. "Try working out."

"Working out? What'd you mean-" King then realized how light his body felt. Getting out of bed, King realized that numb pain he had in his ribs were gone, and he could even run and jump!

"It functions like a mix of steroids and morphine, but without all the adverse effects. It's basically like a protein shake. It even heals at an accelerated rate, like, repairing fractures and internal bleeding in five minutes." The older King explained.

"I've already done most of the work while you were unconscious, so it should be basically gone right now." The older King said, looking at King. "I might even say you're in top form right now."

"You're right! I feel stronger than before I fought with that reptile-looking mysterious being! But, wait... does that mean..." King looked at his future self with slight dread.

"Yep, more fighting."

* * *

**[1 week later...]**

"Well, you're definitely getting better at fighting than I expected. Looks like that change in perspective was all that mattered, eh?" The older King joked.

"You don't *huff* make it any easier, though!" King gasped for breath, just barely managing to win this fight as well. So far, he's never lost against any of the Wolf-level threats that appeared, but he's probably still too weak for Tiger or Demon-level threats.

"Of course, otherwise, how'll that make it training?" The older King chuckled. "By the way, that giant crab thing was actually a Tiger-level threat. It was a known monster from before the Heroes Association was even formed, and almost killed Chairman Agoni's grandson, but was saved by a passerby."

"Wait, you're right! I thought it looked familiar. I remember when before the formation of the Heroes Association, it was considered a threat that was too strong for even the police force, so they put out an order for everyone to avoid it. The police's anti-mysterious being weapons weren't strong enough to pierce its weak points, and bullets even bounced off its shell, so they could do basically nothing." King said.

"But still... it was a strong opponent, yet..." King looked at his fist, dyed blue in the monster's blood. "It's shell was tough as hell, that's true. But I managed to at least leave a few cracks on it, and the weak points were what allowed me to take it down. Its exposed eyes were just begging for me to crush them."

"You're right about that. Still, the main point is that you're getting stronger, bit by bit. I'd say quite a bit stronger. It only took you what, a week to go from a normal human being to being able to take down the weaker Tiger-level threats. Even some B-Class heroes can't do that." The older King said. "To be completely honest, you're growing rather fast."

"Huh... so can I learn how to use the King's Engine yet?" King asked. For the past week, he had to fight and take down various Wolf-level threats while he was as strong as an average human being, and only recently was he able to defeat a weaker Tiger-level threat! All without that 'King's Engine!'

"Well, not yet. For now, you have one last mysterious being to take down... it should be one you're rather familiar with." The older King said cryptically.

"Right, just one more? Good. I don't think my muscles can handle any more." King complained, but suddenly had a bad feeling creep up on him. "...It's just going to be another Tiger-level threat like earlier... right?"

"Let's just say..." A katana suddenly materialized in front of the older King, whom promptly caught it. "I let you have a handicap. You get this sword." The older King extended it towards King.

Eyeing it suspiciously, King asked; "And the reason you're giving me a weapon now is...?"

"It evens the playing field. Now do you want the sword, or do you want to fight it with your bare hands?" The older King said, smiling.

"Alright..." King took the katana. He was no longer in top fighting form, seeing as he just went through maybe 7, 8 Wolf-level threats and a single Tiger-level threat without a break in between. That sword would definitely make things easier, and hell if he'd just pass it up.

"Great, and the last monster of the day is..." The older King suddenly jumped up to a much higher building, and shouted; "That big guy behind you! Use that sword to your advantage!"

King turned around, and-

No. No. _No fucking way._

Octoclaw Man was crashing into building, wreaking havoc-

In his general direction.

"YOU COMPLETE ASSSSSSSS-" King yelled, hiding behind the buildings to hide from Octoclaw Man.

"Ah... Well, at least I gave him a sword, so it's even." The older King sighed, looking at Octoclaw Man chasing his younger self down the street. "I know he's my past self, but..."

"He's growing really fast. _Too_ fast, even."

* * *

**[6 months later...]**

"Heh, you've come a long way in these six months." The older King said, looking at his younger self take down the mimicry of Vaccine Man with his bare hands. "You took down a Dragon-level threat that was supposed to attack City A in a year. At least you'll be prepared for him next time, eh?"

"You still haven't shown me how to activate the King's Engine, though. What was the point of telling me all about it if you weren't going to show me how to use it?" King looked at his older self. He was still kind of mad at his future self for telling him all about some broken cheat-skill like the 'King Engine'... and not showing him how to get it.

"Hey, giving you the King's Engine immediately after I met you would be like getting the final level 99 sword when you just start the game. That wouldn't make sense, right?" The older King chuckled.

"It'd make the game a lot shorter, that's for sure." King groaned.

"But the whole point of this training is to increase your base strength. If you use the King's Engine afterwards..."

"I guess you have a point. Just one second would be enough to turn the tides." King sighed. "But at that point, is there even a need for the King's Engine anymore?"

"God-level threats. The difference between a God-level threat and a Dragon-level threat is like the difference between a Dragon-level threat and a Wolf-level threat. It's an absolutely massive disparity. Right now, against that 'God' fellow that'll invade Earth in a few years, you wouldn't last 5 minutes. Maybe against that Chronos guy you'd last 6 or 7 minutes, but no more than that." The older King informed.

"I see... and is this 'training' going to end anytime soon?" King asked.

"Hahahahaha, not until you can take down God-level threats without needing the King's Engine!" The older King laughed.

"So you're not going to teach me the King's Engine at all?" King asked. "There's no point to it, then."

"Pretty much. It's powerful, but it's more trouble than it's worth. It makes you way too strong. If you left it unchecked for half a minute, you'd be able to crush entire galaxies simply by walking too hard." The older King said. "I'll still teach you, though. The time just isn't right, yet."

"There's plenty of God-level threats that you'll face in the future, and there wasn't one that lasted longer than 5 seconds against me with the King's Engine." The older King said. "But don't get cocky. There might be that enemy that'll be too much to handle, King Engine or not."

"You say that, but I've been living for a couple hundred years without losing, have I?" King shot back to his older self.

"You're right about that, but one can't be too cautious." His older self chuckled.

"Well, I think that's enough for today. Your training for now is over. Why don't you go out and show the world how strong King, The Strongest Man On Earth is, eh?" The older King said, pointing towards the exit.

"Finally, I thought you'd never say that." King let out a sigh of relief, that his hellish 'training' was over for now.

"Still, you should at least come back once or twice a week, maybe on weekends?" The older King suggested.

"You mean I get five days of rest, and then more hellish training for two straight years? Yeah, I think I'll pass." King said, walking out the time room.

"I get what you're saying, but not like it's a straight shot's worth of training. Tell you what, you can enjoy the next part of Doki-Doki Sisters."

"Which one?"

"Doki-Doki Sisters: Pink Skies." The older King passed his younger self the new Doki-Doki Sisters game, the cover featuring the main character, the main heroine, and a rather pinkish sky.

"The next time you come back, I'll give you the next part."

"I'll be back in a week."

"Well, at least that's six more times you're ensured to come back in." The older King chuckled.

"There's six more parts!?" King asked. Did that mean there was eight total parts of Doki-Doki Sisters?!

"Well, there's part one to six, then the first half of part seven, and then the second half."

"Wait, they sold two halves of a game?"

"Hey, don't underestimate them. The first half of part seven is at least three time bigger than the first part, and the second half is twice as big as the first half."

"Well then... I'll be back soon." King said, a fiery determination burning in his eyes. Never in his life did he feel such burning resolve. It even eclipsed the time he learnt that there was a new limited edition of Doki-Doki Sisters coming out.

"You will. Anyway, we should get out first." The older King said, entering the glass chamber. King followed behind as the glass door closed. Three seconds later, the glass glowed green, as the exit opened up to the real world.

Immediately after the exit opened, King ran towards the balcony, and opened the sliding door.

"Ahh... the air feels so invigorating!" King took a deep breath, savoring the first breath of fresh air in six months.

"Much better than the stale air in the time room, huh? Makes you think how it was actually just a bit over 11 hours in real life." The older King said. "Makes those six months look like nothing."

True, he was basically put through hell for six whole months, but he only spent a bit over 11 hours in the real world, and he was strong enough to take down a Dragon-level threat with his bare hands, and with a weapon? Six or seven wouldn't be an issue. A God-level threat would still be beyond his means, though.

"To think six months have passed, but it's only the next day in real life..." King sighed, looking out the window. "I didn't think I'd ever see the day where I'd miss the real world more than my apartment."

"Well, there's just something about that refreshing clear blue sky. It's much better than the bland whiteness of the time room, eh?" The older King chuckled, taking down the time room by pulling off the card off the wall.

"Here, take this and paste it back." The older King said.

"What? Why?"

"Since I was the one that put it on, I was the only one that could take it off. Now you put it on, so you can take it off. I'll be in the time room if you ever need me." The older King passed the card to King. "Remember, you don't grow older in the time-room, so even if you didn't need me for a few months, say, 90 years in the time room, I wouldn't age a day."

"Okay then..." King placed the card back onto the wall, the door to the time room reappearing.

Before walking back in and closing the door, the older King had something to say.

"Before I go back in, I just want to remind you... don't go letting the S-Class die on you, alright? They might not be the best heroes, but they're sure as hell stronger than their successors. It'll make your job easier, trust me."

And with that, King's future self walked into the time room. Taking off the card, King simply thought about what happened to him in the last six months in the time room.

Though his future self was a bit of an asshole at time, thinking back...

In those six months, he already managed to gain strength, enough strength to defeat Dragon-level threats.

"_I guess my future self wasn't that big a jerk, after all." _King thought, remembering how despite the extremely close fights his future self pitted against him, he was always treated afterwards with that disgusting reddish-pink liquid. His strength grew phenomenally afterwards, and after fighting Octoclaw, he was even provided weapons from time to time to help fight the monsters with.

Still, it'd have been nice if he just taught him how to use the King's Engine...

"Now, it's time to enjoy the next part of Doki-Doki Sisters!" King said, holding the next part of the series in his hands. He couldn't wait to continue playing.

Suddenly, King could hear his phone ringing. Annoyed, King picked up the phone.

"Mr. King! It may be sudden to call you right now, but there's an emergency!"

* * *

**{Inside the time room...}**

"Oh, wait, I forgot to tell him that there'll be another threat appearing nearby today... Ah, well. He should be strong enough, it's just a regular Demon-level threat, and if I'm not mistaken, he's fought the mimicry of that monster before." The older King said, looking up from his manga, before going back to reading his manga. "I mean, that should be it, at the time I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best. It disappeared afterwards, so..."

The older King then looked at the direction of where the exit was supposed to be. "...I hope that's all."

* * *

**{Outside the time room...}**

"_Sigh... _Fine, which one?" King asked, annoyed at the current turn of events.

"It's approaching your current location! It should be just outside your apartment-"

King looked out his balcony, and saw the problem.

A massive red dragonfly was wreaking havoc just outside his apartment with a large truck in it's mouth.

"Hey, I've fought that one before..." King remembered when he was in the time room, he once fought one just like that.

Jumping off his apartment building, King immediately squashed the giant dragonfly with such ease it was as if he was swatting a fly.

"Done. It's some big red dragonfly, right?" King asked, expecting the whole ordeal to be over.

"What? A large dragonfly? No, we were talking about a large swarm of-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake-"

A massive swarm of grotesque beings were flying towards King's apartment, each of them different from the other, the only thing that connected them together being tentacles on the bottom of their bodies and 3 large wings.

"I just-" King jumped straight into the heart of the swarm.

"Wanted to-" King started a barehanded slaughter, but the more he killed, the more attacked him.

"Enjoy my-" Shrugging off their attacks, King ripped and teared through the swarm like paper.

"Time off!"

* * *

**[1 hour later...]**

"That's dealt with. Anything else?" King said, completely covered in blood and annoyed as hell.

"Y-y-yes! Of course!" The Heroes Association employee quickly agreed, and put down the phone.

"Right. That's all. I think." King said, looking around. It took him the better part of an hour to fully exterminate all of those flying monstrosities. He was covered in blood, guts, and everything horrid. He's experienced this before in the time room, but this being the real world, the blood and guts were just that much more disgusting than the fake ones in the time room.

"I need to take a bath..." King said, looking at this turtleneck sweater covered in blood. Going back to his apartment, all he could think of was taking a bath, and finally enjoying the second part of the Doki-Doki Sisters series.

* * *

**[3 hours later...]**

After taking a bath, King had fun playing Doki-Doki Sisters: Pink Skies. All the cliffhangers of the previous game were gone, replaced with fun and exciting new routes to follow.

Just as he was at the best part, his phone rang again.'

"What." King was mad. He just wanted a few days to himself. That was all! Five days was all he had before another two years of pure hell. True, he'd get the next part of Doki-Doki Sisters, but he'd like to finish the part he got first!

"Um, so sorry for interrupting you, Mr. King, but we'd like to invite you to the Heroes Association to re-rank you." The employee said.

"Re-rank me? What do you mean?" King asked.

"Well, we've re-evaluated the threat assessed by the large swarm of enemies earlier, and we've decided that the large swarm was a Dragon-level threat. Each individual being was already a Demon-level threat on their own, so to take down a massive swarm of them, you've been re-ranked from Rank 6 S-Class hero to Rank 5 S-Class hero." The employee said.

"That was fast. Is that really all?" King asked.

"Y-yes! That's all! The meeting place is Hall 777, we'll wait for you there, Mr. King!" The employee said respectfully before putting down the phone.

King looked at the phone, and looked at the ceiling of his apartment. "Rank 5, huh... I'm replacing Child Emperor right now."

"Oh well, he shouldn't mind all that much, and it shouldn't be all that big of a deal, anyway."

* * *

**[2 hours later, Hall 777...}**

"So you're the newest S-Class hero? Well, you certainly look capable. That doesn't mean I believe that you're 'The Strongest Man on Earth' like they say, though!" Tatsumaki said, floating above King.

"Heh, you're already approaching my rank. I'll tell ya this, King. If you surpass me, I'm dueling you to take back my honor." Atomic Samurai chuckled.

"I can tell, you're a man of incredible strength. Those eyes are the eyes of a man that has faced countless harsh trials... The future looks bright for the young ones, that's for sure." Silver Fang smiled.

"Hmm... I may have been surpassed in rank, but at least it's because you're strong! I saw the video of you fighting that swarm with your bare hands. That was amazing, Mr. King!" Child Emperor praised.

"...You'll make a great hero, King. Now if only you had my skills and discipline... If you wish, I can teach you if you want. I don't always accept disciples." Flashy Flash said.

"_Sigh... why me?" _King thought to himself. He was just supposed to rank up one place, why was the entire S-Class here?!

"N-now, as per what we've agreed on, you're now the 5th ranked S-Class hero, King." Sitch said, passing King the new certificate.

"Right, thanks." King said, taking the certificate under the eyes of the other S-Class heroes.

"Um, Mr. King, if I may be so presumptuous..." Darkshine suddenly called out to King.

"Yes?"

"Can we spar?"

* * *

**CONTINUE**

As you could see, there were many things that changed and honestly, this story is built on the go, I know where to go and everything but each chapter I write in 1 day.

I hope you liked it, I hope your comments and until next time

This chapter change a lot, lol

**Editor's Note: I changed quite a bit, but the main plot still remains the same.**


	3. Chapter 3: A combat and martial styles

Hey, how are you all, I hope you are well and that you are having a nice day, afternoon or night.

This is the new chapter of The Legendary King, if you haven't noticed, change the summary and update chapters 1 and 2, which I hope is fine.

Those 2 chapters and probably this one also were and are updated by: **Transcended Potato**, a big applause towards him gentlemen and ladies.

If you are wondering, yes, I delete the chapter 3 and re-uploaded it.

the reason for that was because my editor, **Transcended Potato** edited the chapter and wanted everyone to see it

I hope you enjoy the new chapter 3 and…

LET'S START

* * *

_"I just wanted to enjoy my few days off..."_ King thought, watching Superalloy Darkshine in a combat stance with his serious and cold gaze.

"_Then why…_" The other S-Class heroes and some other executives that were attracted by the news that an S-Class hero was going to spar with King, whose capabilities were still largely unknown, aside from the monsters he had been reported to have killed, and that single video of King single-handedly slaughtering a swarm of Demon-level threats.

"_DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME?!_" He inwardly screamed, remembering how it got to this point.

* * *

**{After King received his new S-Class ranking...}**

"A spar?" King asked, looking at Superalloy Darkshine. He was sweating a little on the inside, despite his stoic exterior.

"Yes! A spar. I've always asked fellow S-Class heroes to spar with me in order to test my strength and learn the capabilities of the other heroes, and as you're out newest addition, and due to your moniker of 'The Strongest Man On Earth', I'm very interested to have a match with you!" Darkshine asked politely.

Before King could respond, Child Emperor stepped forward, saying;

"That's a good idea! We can see King's strength first-hand, and not just from hear-say and a simple video! Seeing it in person is definitely going to be more impactful!" Child Emperor said, a small tone of excitement in his voice.

"Hmm, Child Emperor is right, it's a much better way of gauging someone else's strength, other than just rumors and a video." Silver Fang said, stroking his mustache.

Flashy Flash said nothing, but it was evident that he agreed with Silver Fang.

"Hmph, I still don't believe that you deserve your reputation as 'The Strongest Man On Earth', so you'd better prove it now." Tatsumaki said, snorting at King.

The other S-Class heroes that were present also expressed interest at Superalloy Darkshine's request to spar with King. This was an opportunity to see how the widely acclaimed 'World's Strongest Man' fought!

King sighed in resignation, and said a few words that increased everyone's excitement.

"Sure, why not."

* * *

**{Superalloy Darkshine's special training room, in the observation room...}**

"So this is where we'll be fighting?" King asked, impressed. It was large, incredibly large. It was almost the size of an entire floor of the Heroes Association headquarters! It probably took up about 70, 80% of the basement they were in now.

"Yep! It's my special training room, where I keep all my weights and training equipment. This is the only place where we would be able to spar freely, as everywhere else in the Heroes Association isn't strong enough to handle a fight on our scale."

"I see. And... why is everyone else here?" King asked, looking behind him. All the S-Classes that were present earlier had followed them here, for some reason! Hell, there were even some employees in here, as well!

"Heh, who'd wanna miss out on seeing you fight for the first time? Aside from that video, no one else knows about your fighting prowess. This is a chance to see it up close, I won't miss it for a keg of booze!" Atomic Samurai chuckled.

"Same, same. I'd like to see how the newest of us fights, too." Silver Fang smiled.

"Well, I have no objections..." King said. "So should we go down there, now?"

"Yep! I'll bring you there myself!" Superalloy Darkshine said, unable to hide his obvious excitement. "It's been so long since I've sparred with another S-Class!"

King was about to follow Darkshine to the room, before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking to his right, it was Puri-Puri Prisoner.

"Don't worry, Kingy. If you need help, I won't hesitate to help you out!" Puri-Puri Prisoner said, flashing King a wink that sent chills down his spine.

"I-It'll be fine." King's stoic demeanor breaking a little under the sudden advance, he continued onward, ignoring Puri-Puri Prisoner as he followed Darkshine.

_"So even he's not immune to Puri-Puri Prisoner's advances..." _The male S-Class heroes aside from the prisoner in question thought, a shiver running down their spines. Puri-Puri Prisoner didn't seem to notice the change in the male S-Class heroes.

Once King and Darkshine entered the room, King noted that it was much larger than it seemed in the observation room. It was almost 200 meters, from the entrance to the end of the room.

"Impressive." King said. "How big is this room?"

"185 by 210 meters by 10 meters, this is the single largest room in the Heroes Association Headquarters, aside from the monster prison!" Darkshine said with pride. "It's my personal training room!"

"I see..." King said. "_I wonder if they'd provide me with a room like this if I asked..."_

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, King reminded himself; _"What am I talking about? I have the time room and my future self as a training mentor, for Blast's sake."_

"Well then, are you ready, Mr King?" Darkshine said, getting into a fighting stance.

* * *

**[The current situation...]**

Though it was just a few minutes ago, it seemed like hours to King, making him nervous as hell, as his heart began to beat audibly. He's only fought monsters before, he's never even fought another human before, much less a fellow S-Class hero!

"Hmm, Mr. King?" Darkshine suddenly called out.

"Yes?" King said, snapping out of his reverie to respond to Darkshine.

"What is that sound?" Darkshine asked.

The heroes and employees were confused until they focused their hearing.

"_Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!_" It was a weak, yet strong beat. Though it could not be heard very well, it could definitely be felt (aside from Tatsumaki, whom was floating). Like the shaking of a building during slight tremors, it was like someone was playing loud music through a speaker beneath them, yet it came from King alone.

"Oh, you mean that sound?" King said, realizing what Darkshine was asking about. "That's the sound of my King Engine" King explained, yet due to his nervousness, the beating of his heart didn't stop.

"'King Engine'?" Darkshine said, a look of questioning on his face.

"I'm not going to reveal too much, I'll just say this. It's a sound you'll hear when I'm getting ready for battle." King explained.

"Oh, I see..." Darkshine said, amazed. The other heroes were also interested.

"'King Engine', huh? It sure sounds powerful. Is that supposed to represent his bloodlust?" Atomic Samurai hypothesized.

"Perhaps. Though he's preparing from battle, I can sense no bloodlust. Perhaps he doesn't emit bloodlust, aside from the beating of that 'King Engine' of his?" Silver Fang supported the hypothesis.

"Maybe it's a way for him to hype himself up!" Metal Bat suggested.

"It could be a source of power for him. He called it the 'King Engine', so if it works like a real engine..." Child Emperor started. "Maybe it really is just like an engine starting up!"

"Hmph! 'King Engine' or not, I'm still not impressed! I haven't seen him fight yet!" Tatsumaki said, still looking down on King.

"Well, I will honor you getting serious by starting this match." Superalloy Darkshine said, before he got into a starting position, and with great speed, launched himself towards King.

"_He's fast._" King thought, dodging the punch Darkshine sent to him. "_One would think that with his large frame, he'd be slow-moving, but he's quite fast._" King thought as he kept dodging Darkshine's strikes. "_I suppose those muscles aren't just for show, they're pretty powerful, too."_

* * *

**{In the observation room...}**

"Who do you think'll win?" Child Emperor asked his fellow S-Class heroes, chewing on his lollipop.

"Hard to say, I've experienced Darkshine's strength first-hand, as I've sparred with him before. We don't know the limits of King's strength, however." Bang said, analyzing the match.

"We can definitely say that he's fast, though." said Tank Top Master. "Darkshine isn't just all muscle, he's a good fighter, as well. But King's dodging all those strikes like nothing."

"Yes, but speed isn't everything. If his strength lies in just his speed, he's just like Flash, but slower and without a weapon." said Zombieman

Flashy Flash said nothing about that remark.

"Hmph, it's true that he's fast, but aside from that and the video of him fighting that swarm of small-fry, there's still nothing remarkable about him anyway!" Tatsumaki said, watching the fight.

Pig God just enjoyed some burgers, but he was still watching the fight.

Watchdog Man simply watched the fight with his poker face look.

Drive Knight was quietly watching the fight until he said something interesting.

"We shouldn't be asking who'll win this match yet, what we should be asking is whether he can even harm Darkshine in the first place." Drive Knight's comment made everyone look attentively at the fight again.

* * *

**{Back to the fighters...}**

Darkshine was throwing punches at his maximum speed towards King, yet King dodged them with relative ease, showing no signs of tiring at all.

_"Unbelievable, Mr. King is moving at an immense speed, I can't even graze him with my maximum speed! I guess it's time to take out my secret weapons..."_ Darkshine thought to himself before squeezing his muscles to the maximum and launching himself towards king in a tackle "Can you bear this, Mr. King!?"

* * *

**{In the observation room...}**

"That tackle, Darkshine is not holding back..." said Tank Top Master as he stared in surprise at the scene.

"What are you going to do now, King?" Bang said softly, and everyone was wondering the same thing.

* * *

**{With the fighters}**

As Superalloy Darkshine dashed towards King in a powerful tackle, King became a little nervous, remembering about something.

_"I forgot to turn off my TV before I left, and I'm still on the Doki-Doki Sisters: Pink Skies main menu!"_ King thought. He had only dodged Darkshine's attacks because he didn't want to hurt him, nor did he want to use all that much effort, but as he recalled that he forgot to turn off the game, his mind instantly raced to find a way to defeat Darkshine in the fastest way possible!

Looking at Darkshine aiming to tackle him, King suddenly had an idea. King simply waited until Darkshine was close to him, before jumping a few meters high, just directly above Superalloy to overcome his massive frame, and to propel himself further, King put his foot on the back of Darkshine's head and kicked to propel himself out of the way, effectively dodging the tackle and causing Superalloy Darkshine to lose his balance.

Darkshine could only stare in surprise, as did the others, as the force from King's kick sent him crashing to the ground with a loud 'thud'.

* * *

**{In the observation room...}**

"H-he dodged it!" Atomic Samurai said, surprised. Not even he could dodge a blow from Darkshine at that close a distance.

"Incredible! His reflexes are probably close to Flashy Flash's, if he managed to dodge a blow and counterattack with a kick from that close a distance while Darkshine was charging at him!" Child Emperor suggested.

"The most impressive thing, however, is that he managed to do it without any special skills or techniques." Bang said, summarizing what was on the minds of most. "His combat sense must be astounding, as expecting from 'The Strongest Man On Earth'."

* * *

**{With the fighters...}**

As Superalloy Darkshine rose from the ground, he couldn't help but marvel at King's counterattack.

"_He avoided my tackle with just a kick, and managed to put me off my balance with another kick! As expected, Mr King truly is amazing!_" Superalloy Darkshine thought as he stood up fully and looked at King. "That was superb, Mr King! That counterattack with just two kicks was truly amazing!" Darkshine praised.

"Hmm? You're still conscious? That kick would've instantly killed most Demon-level threats, I'd assume that'd be enough to knock you out, at least." King said, surprised.

"I'm Superalloy Darkshine, the shiniest S-Class hero! My muscles's toughness are S-Class! An attack that can kill a Demon-level threat is nothing to me!" Darkshine boasted, though it was true; his body was indeed as tough enough to shrug off attacks that can instantly kill Demon-level threats. He was strong enough to punch one into oblivion, as well.

"I see..." King had a pondering look on his face for a while, before it morphed into a more serious one.

"Well, before we continue, I need to clear something up."

* * *

**{Moments before...}**

King landed on the ground, looking at Darkshine on the ground.

"_I hope that's it. That kick was strong enough to instantly kill a Demon-level threat, it should be enough to knock him out, at least. I did kick him directly in the head, after all._" King thought, but was surprised when he saw Darkshine get up.

"_Darkshine managed to get up from that? But how? I thought that would be enough to knock him out, or at least give him a minor concussion! He seems perfectly unfazed!_" King thought, but then he remembered something. _"Ah, right. Darkshine is known for his incredible resilience due to his tough body, he's even reputed to shrug off the attacks of Demon-level threats."_

_"Well... I suppose I can get a little serious..."_

* * *

**{In the observation room...}**

"Looks like Darkshine was unfazed by that kick. I mean, that seemed like a normal counter-attack, so may be he wasn't putting in all that much effort in the attack?" Child Emperor said.

"Hey, look, King seems to be saying something." Bang said, noticing that King seemed to be mouthing something.

"Hold on, I learnt lip reading in school! Let me see if I can get what that was." Child Emperor pulled put a recording of the fight, rewinding the time to when King was saying something.

"Err, let's see... 'Tatsumaki... do me...a favor...' Huh, He's talking to you, Tatsumaki." Child Emperor said.

"Hmm? Me? Does he need me to save him in case he gets wounded or something?" Tatsumaki smirked.

"...No. He's saying..."

"'If I go too far... please stop me.'"

* * *

**{With the fighters...}**

"Why'd you ask Tatsumaki to stop you in case you go too far?" Darkshine asked. "Does it overwork your muscles or harm you when you use it? Or are there harmful side-effects? If that's so, you shouldn't use them! After all, it's just a friendly spar, I don't want you yo get hurt!"

"Oh, no. It doesn't have any side effects or harm me when I use it..." King said, stretching. "It just strains my body a little bit, like when you do a full-body workout."

"If anything, I want Tatsumaki to stop me in case I go too far..." King looked at Darkshine seriously. "And harm you too much."

"I've never used this against another human, much less an S-Class hero. So if anything, I'm just afraid I won't be able to stop in time." King said.

"Is that it? I see... You shouldn't worry, though! I'm Superalloy Darkshine, my durability is the greatest of the S-Class heroes!" Darkshine said, pumping his fist. "In fact, I should thank you! If what you're about to do will increase your strength a lot, I might be able to use my full strength to fight back!"

"Well... you'll understand, soon."

* * *

**{In the observation room...}**

"Why'd he want Tatsumaki to help stop him in case he goes too far? Does he think he can actually harm Darkshine or something?" Tank-Top Master said. "If so, he's in for a rude awakening. Darkshine is one of the most resilient heroes I've ever met. Not even some of our top-class heroes would be able to wound him in the first place.

"Well, we could just wait and see. I don't believe for a second that he'd be able to injure Darkshine, and even if he could, I don't think we'd need to step in anyway. Darkshine in his serious mode is a force to be reckoned with." Atomic Samurai said.

"Well, unless he has some techniques up his sleeve. If he had something like the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist with him, I won't doubt he would be able to overpower Darkshine." Silver Fang remarked.

"Heh, you're just saying that because you're the only one that can actually 'wound' him, though it's the same as him hitting himself." Atomic Samurai chuckled. "Not to mention, 'with your Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist'? You headhunting for more disciples again, Silver Fang?"

"Hmph! Who does he think he is, needing me to stop him 'if he goes too far'? I'll teach him a lesson, if he think's he all that-"

Suddenly, it was as if the entire room was submerged in tar, the air was so heavy that the employees felt that they would suffocate, and some of the weaker S-Classes were also affected.

"Such bloodlust... and this was hidden behind his King Engine?" Atomic Samurai said, his carefree demeanor changing to a more serious one. This kind of bloodlust and battle intent was like that of a sleeping dragon about to awaken. Even he did not experience this sort of killing intent head on before, how was Darkshine doing right now, right in front of King himself?

"This incredible bloodlust... it might even suffocate some of the weaker employees!" Silver Fang looked around, and realized that some of the employees were starting to get breathless and suffocating.

"Hmph." Tatsumaki immediately formed a psychic barrier, blocking out a majority of the vast killing intent filling the room.

"T-thank you, Tatsumaki." An employee thanked.

"Hmph, why'd you even come here if you were so weak?" Tatsumaki scoffed. "Though..."

Tatsumaki turned to see King staring down Darkshine, a murderous, borderline frenzied aura oozing out of his body.

"That aura is no joke..."

Everyone in the room agreed.

Flashy Flash looked at King with renewed interest. Even when he was training in the village, his instructors, no, not even the murderous training beasts had this level of killing intent.

Pig God stopped his eating, and looked at the fight more seriously than before.

There was almost no change to Watchdog Man's emotionless visage, with the exception of his dead fish eyes squinting a tiny bit, by about 1 to 2 mm.

* * *

**{With the fighters...}**

"W-what's that?" Darkshine said to himself, noticing the dread in the room. The battle intent and bloodlust radiating off King felt almost tangible, like thick fog.

"Well then..." King said, not sounding the same as earlier. "Get ready."

Before Darkshine could even register, King had sent a punch directly to his face, sending Darkshine crashing towards one of the support beams, leaving cracks on it.

As Darkshine registered the punch, his nose was bleeding, and... was that pain?

How did-

Darkshine just blinked, and King was in front of him.

For the first time in Darkshine's life, he dodged King's punch. By a literal hair's breadth, the punch completely destroyed the column he was resting on. Had it landed again, it would've caused more damage than just a nosebleed.

King wasted no time in attacking with heavier and heavier blows, each blow sending the long-forgotten feeling of pain back into Darkshine's body.

"_W-what the... though it isn't much, every hit grows faster than the last, and each one is more powerful than the last!" _Darkshine said, as not only did the familiar feeling of pain assault him, a long-forgotten emotion rose up within Darkshine.

_Fear._

He wanted to spar with King in order to be able to fight with his full strength. He lost to Silver Fang because he was using his own strength against himself. Tank-Top Master was busy training with his group. Tatsumaki just used ESP, and when a new S-Class that fought with hand-to-hand combat, with physical strength, no less, Darkshine wanted to spar with him.

In fact, even losing to him was an acceptable outcome. He just wanted someone to push his muscles to the limit!

Yet... what was this feeling? He was perfectly fine with just losing a battle, and this was one such example!

Yet why... why... why was he so scared?!

Then, Darkshine realized;

What he was fighting was not a fellow S-Class hero.

He was fighting an absolute monster.

"GRAHHHH!" Darkshine threw a punch in desperation to catch his breath, yet King easily dodged the punch, drawing closer to Darkshine to land five successive blows.

Each of those blows were more powerful than the previous blows combined, and they were the heaviest blows throughout the entire match- no, they were the heaviest blows he had ever received in his entire career as a hero.

* * *

**{In the observation room...}**

"He... actually wounded Darkshine?" Tank-Top Master said in disbelief. He had trained with Darkshine before, so he knew just how ridiculously strong his body was. He could even shrug off Silver Fang's attacks!

"Amazing! Even when I was using Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, coupled with Darkshine's one strength, I wasn't even able to put a scratch on him! King's using his own physical strength and he's managing to hurt Darkshine!" Silver Fang said incredulously. "But..."

"He's not letting up. Even though Darkshine seems to be losing badly, King's not stopping his attack." Atomic Samurai said.

"...His killing intent is growing." Flashy Flash said suddenly.

"What? What'd you mean, Flash?" Atomic Samurai asked. "There doesn't seem to be a difference..."

"We're in Tatsumaki's barrier, of course you won't notice a change." Flashy Flash said. "But look at her now."

Everyone turned to look at Tatsumaki, whom seemed to be concentrating rather hard.

"...You weaklings that aren't even supposed to be here should leave right about now. You know how taxing it is to keep this shield up!?" Tatsumaki said, a look of annoyance on her face.

"R-right away, Tatsumaki!" The employees that were in the room quickly fled, leaving only the S-Class heroes.

"...Those that are unable to handle this should just quit being an S-Class hero and go down to A-Class. I'm weakening the shield." Tatsumaki said, the shield fading a little more.

Immediately after, they were assaulted with a wave of utter bloodlust so strong, so concentrated that some of the weaker S-Classes, like Tank-Top Master, Puri-Puri Prisoner, Metal Bat and Child Emperor started shivering, not due to the cold, but due to the human body's instinct for self-preservation.

Every instinct in their mind was screaming for them to run away right now.

"Grr... he's really strong, but I sure as hell ain't running due to some stinking aura!" Metal Bat said suddenly, taking his bat and hitting himself in the head multiple times. "_Phew... _I'm all pumped up now, I ain't fleeing, no matter what my body tells me!"

Puri-Puri Prisoner's muscles suddenly flexed, ripping apart his clothes, leaving him stark naked. "Angel Style...I won't let Kingy's aura scare me away! I will accept everything about him with deep love... even this immense killing intent!"

Despite the discomfort everyone felt from the killing intent radiated from King, Puri-Puri Prisoner managed to make everyone else even more uncomfortable.

"Tsk... I'll have to use my secret technique to handle this level of bloodlust." Tank-Top Master said, suddenly taking something out.

It was another tank-top.

Putting the second tank-top on top of the first one, Tank-Top Master's previously strained expression relaxed a bit. "My second tank-top doubles the tank-top's already great versatility, and it can even block out twice the amount of killing intent! If it was any stronger, I might've needed to put on a third tank-top."

"_What in the world is a tank-top's 'versatility'? Not to mention, how does putting on another tank-top double the amount of killing intent you can endure?" _Everyone's thoughts were about the same.

"This kind of unrestrained killing intent... though immense, it isn't all that finely honed. If his prowess was sharpened further..." Flashy Flash said, a serious look on his face. "He would make a great ninja... If I can train him, imagine the results..."

"He's a hand-to-hand combatant, are you going to try teaching him swordsmanship?" Atomic Samurai said. "If that's so, he's better off learning from me."

"Hmph, ninjutsu doesn't just incorporate weapons training, hand-to-hand combat is also stressed upon. Even just teaching him some of them would multiply his fighting efficiency tenfold."

"We shouldn't be worrying about that now..." Silver Fang said, attracting everyone's attention. "What we should worry about... is Darkshine's condition."

Then everyone remembered. What they were feeling now was but a filtered amount of killing intent blocked by Tatsumaki's barrier. Not to mention, they were in an observation room. What about Darkshine, whom didn't have that shield, and was facing the man himself, no less?

"H-he was so calm and collected earlier... w-what changed that?!" Child Emperor said, barely able to keep himself in check. He may be a genius... but this level of killing intent would paralyze a grown man, much less himself!"

Everyone's thoughts were also the same at this moment.

"_What in the world changed King's fighting style?"_

* * *

**{Flashback to inside the time-room, four months into King's training...]**

"Well, you're getting much better already. Demon-levels can be killed easily, but you'd still struggle to keep up against a Dragon-level threat, much less defeat one." The older King said.

"The disparity in strength is already great between a Demon-level and a Dragon-level, what'd you expect?!" King said, sitting down on a piece of destroyed building, just finished with his training.

By training, he meant live combat with the mimicry of a dozen Demon-level threats at once.

"Well, all you're doing right now is basically doing nothing but combat against monsters with nothing but sheer combat sense and physical strength." The older King said. "You're missing something."

"And that is?" King asked.

"A trump card, like a hidden weapon to turn the tides." The older King explained. "That, or something like a power-up that you use to multiply your strength or fighting capability tenfold or something."

"Do I have something like that in the future?" King asked.

"Yep, but that's after I unlocked the King Engine, obviously." The older King said. "It's also a sub-power of the King Engine, so I don't know if you can unlock it now."

"_Sigh... _Anything's better than nothing at this rate, what is it?" King asked.

"Well..." The older King put down the cup of coffee he was sipping, and jumped down in front of his past self.

"You actually gain seven sub-powers in the future, but one suited to you currently should be this one." The older King said. "Imagine a monster. You just want to kill it, yes?"

"Now think of a certain mindset." The older King then picked up a stone.

"You don't just want to defeat the monster, you want to completely destroy-" The older King formed a fist and crushed the stone.

"Decimate-" King's fist then formed a palm which clapped onto the stone, turning it into dust.

"And completely annihilate-" The older King then formed a fist once more but punched his palm with such strength, it blew apart the air around him, eliminating any last visible trace of what was once a stone. "-your enemy."

"This is the easiest one to unlock, in my opinion." The older King said, placing his hand on his younger self. "All you have to do is get so pissed at something that your anger transforms into killing intent."

"What? How, though?" King asked. The entire time he was killing monsters- well, mimicry of monsters in the world, it was always because he wanted to train, and defeating monsters was basically common sense. He never really had anything against said monsters, and only ever attacked them because they would attack him first, otherwise.

"Simple, try this one out." The older King then jumped up to the building he was sitting on previously, as a large, seven-headed fleshy being appeared behind his past self.

Barely dodging the hit, King jumped back to see a grotesque being with seven heads and pale-grey skin.

"It's an alien thing that appeared during the alien invasion a year and a bit later. I saw it from above a rooftop, and saw four S-Classes taking it on. I'll let you discover the weak points yourself." The older King said.

Barely dodging the next hits, King jumped back to increase the distance between them, but its arms suddenly split into long tendrils that aimed towards King.

"What the hell?! This is a Dragon-level threat, isn't it?!" King said, frantically avoiding each attack of the monster. If it took four S-Classes to take it down, he, whom just entered the gate of 'S-Class' a month ago, was supposed to take it down?!"

"I'll make it easy on you. To unlock that power I said earlier..." The older King started.

"...just imagine that it erased all your progress on Doki-Doki Sisters and played only all the bad routes! Its favorite route is also the Catastrophe route!"

Barely five seconds after the older King said that, a wave of bloodthirst so strong it would cause even an S-Class hero to recoil in fear emanated from King.

...

...

...

"Huh, looks like you can unlock other sub-powers of the King Engine even before you fully unlock the actual King Engine." The older King said, surprised. He didn't even need to tell him the weak-spots of that monster, his strength was increased so much that he could just shatter the regeneration-pearl thingamajig with the sheer strength of a few punches.

"Anyway, that's one of your seven sub-powers. Child Emperor called them The Kings, when I introduced them without a name. I didn't like it all that much, as it sounds kinda tacky, with my hero name being King and all that..."

"I took inspiration from it, though, so I named it the Crowns, after that golden head-wear that monarchs wore in order to symbolize their authority."

"This one is the simplest Crown, but it's also the Crown that gives you a more straightforward boost, multiplying your physical capabilities five-fold every minute up to fifty times your base strength, and it grows faster the angrier you are. I called it..."

"The Crown Of Rage."

* * *

**[End of flashback, inside the training room...}**

"U-uh... let's stop, alright, Mr King? I yield, okay? I yield!" Darkshine said fearfully, wanting to forfeit the fight. Though he prided himself in his incredible muscles, he had a feeling that if he didn't stop the fight early... he might end up dead!

So this was King, The World's Strongest Man! Oh, how naive was he, to ask for a spar with him!

At this moment, what he wanted was not to use his muscles to their fullest extent- that was 30 seconds ago, and he already did. The result? He was losing. Badly.

Now? He just wanted to survive!

But it was as if King couldn't hear him, and during the brief moment King was standing still, Darkshine noticed King's eyes...

They were as deep as an abyss, like an endless ocean of battle and death! His blue eyes were replaced with a deep crimson red, like dried blood of a stained battlefield!

"Hiiiii-" For the first time in Darkshine's life, he ran away. Sounding an less-than-heroic squeal, Darkshine ran towards the exit, aiming to escape.

Yet, King didn't let that happen, running towards him and hooking Darkshine's leg, causing him to trip.

Darkshine turned around in fear, King running towards him with both hands outstretched, aiming to end his life-

But mere centimeters away from Darkshine, King suddenly stopped, a emerald-green glow surrounding his body.

**{Inside the observation room...}**

"Tatsumaki?!" Tank-Top Master said, seeing a vein throb on Tatsumaki's forehead.

"Tsk, he's strong..." Tatsumaki said, gritting her teeth. "This is the maximum amount of force I can use if I don't want to tear this building apart. Someone go help Darkshine already!"

"On my way." Silver Fang said, followed by Atomic Samurai and Flashy Flash.

* * *

**{Inside the training room...}**

Darkshine quickly took the time to run away from King, nothing but abject terror in his mind. Just facing the threat of death, Darkshine's former determination crumbled into a hysterical mess as all he wanted to do at the moment was to get the hell away from King.

Yet slowly but surely, King was slowly advancing, even under Tatsumaki's psychic pressure.

"Hnnh?! He's resisting my psychic powers!" Tatsumaki gritted her teeth, barely able to halt King's advance. Well, she could, but using any more force would tear apart the building they were in- not to mention cause untold chaos to the surrounding city. Even then, she wasn't sure if that might harm King anyway.

It was like trying to pin down a stampeding bull- damn near impossible if one wasn't an expert esper!

Well, she was, but using any more force would destroy the surroundings and place the other civilians in danger.

"Damn... looks like I have no choice, I hope King's as tough as he's ruthless right now!" Tatsumaki said, a look of determination in her green eyes.

Suddenly, the area around King started to crack, the increased pressure affecting the surrounding area around King. Despite her best attempts to keep the psychic powers under control, some of that pressure inevitably leaked to the surrounding area. Keeping herself focused enough to keep King immobilized and not destroy the Heroes Association Headquarters was exhausting!

Yet even so, King advanced, step by step, he was overpowering Tatsumaki's psychic power!

"T-this strength! Either he has some sort of indomitable will, or bottomless physical strength!" Tatsumaki remarked.

"We're here! Darkshine, calm down!" Silver Fang said, reaching Darkshine. Yet as he was panicking, he couldn't differentiate anyone else from King, and launched an attack towards the old martial arts master.

"Hmm, he's been subjected to such strong bloodlust, I'm not surprised he's lost his cool." Bang said, coolly dodging Darkshine's blow and sending it back to him with his Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.

The force was enough to knock Darkshine back to his senses, as he shakily asked; "W-where am I?"

"You're fine, Darkshine, just get up the lift. We'll take it from here." Atomic Samurai said, unsheathing his sword, preparing for a fight.

"Tatsumaki, we'll take it from here. You can release the pressure, now." Silver Fang notified through his Heroes Association communicator.

Immediately after, the pressure on King disappeared, and a crater formed where King was, the sheer strength cracking the ground beneath him.

"Get ready!" Silver Fang warned, as they prepared for a tough fight.

...

...

...

"...Huh? What happened- Oh damn." King's 'Crown Of Rage' had subsided, and what met him was... an utterly devastated training room, and three heavily wounded S-Class heroes. Where'd Darkshine go?

"_Huff...huff..._ you've finally come back to your senses, King? Good..." Silver Fang fell to the floor, followed by both Atomic Samurai and Flashy Flash.

"God damn. If you took any longer, we might've died." Atomic Samurai heaved a sigh of relief, still firmly grasping his sword.

"I ran out of secret techniques to use, and I didn't have time to pull out any forbidden techniques, as well." Flashy Flash said. "It's the first time... I experienced such a difficult battle. Not even in the village were we trained this harshly." Flashy Flash said, yet there was a strange look of contentment on his face.

In the observation room, Tatsumaki heaved a sigh of relief, slumping down to the floor, breathing heavily.

"Focusing my psychic power is such a pain... dammit! I hate it when I have to suppress my powers!" Tatsumaki complained. "I was constantly aiding those three the entire time with my psychic powers by restraining King as much as I could... he seemed to be more and more resistant to my powers the longer the fight lasted."

Child Emperor returned to the room, noticing that the room was shaking less often. "Has King finally come back to his senses? I just finished evacuating the building!"

"Hmph, took your sweet time. King went back to normal just a minute ago." Zombieman said, eyeing King intensely. "_No matter what kind of weaponry I have... I don't think I'll ever be able to defeat him. He might even be able to turn me into mincemeat with sheer strength alone... I need to prepare countermeasures."_

"Dammit! Well, at least I left my bag to record everything..." Child Emperor said, looking at his bag. It was currently on a tripod, a camera extending from inside the bag.

"You don't need to watch anything. It was just 30 straight minutes of Silver Fang, Atomic Samurai and Flashy Flash defending against King's onslaught, even when Tatsumaki was supporting them from the sides." Zombieman remarked.

"...He's a strong one, alright." Tatsumaki said, a small smile creeping on her face.

At least this S-Class wasn't a disappointment.

* * *

**{In the devastated training room...}**

"You guys alright?! You don't seem very fine..." King said worriedly. Silver Fang's aged body was revealed, a multitude of scars underneath. Despite that, there were obvious, new bruises that were caused by himself.

Flashy Flash's clothes were ripped in places, broken throwing knives were all over the floor, and his sword looked like it was cracked in multiple places.

Atomic Samurai seemed to have been hit the least, and his sword was mostly intact. He seemed to have suffered the least, but he looked the most exhausted. Well, swordsmen were generally less fit than martial artists and ninjas, so he couldn't say anything.

"We'll be fine. If we withstood your onslaught for thirty whole minutes, we can handle our wounds." Silver Fang chuckled. "If I was in my prime, I'd have been less wounded. Well, no winning against time."

"Err... yeah." King said, remembering how his future self quite literally beat the shit out of who was probably the personification of time, and was 146 years old at the time.

"Hmph, I've never faced such humiliation... all my attacks, even when aiming to kill, all of them missed. 167,532 sword slashes, and none of them hit." Atomic Samurai sighed. "I need to go back to training."

"Even if it did hit, it'd have done nothing. A few slashes of mine connected, and it didn't even leave a scratch. Why'd you even bother dodging, King?" Flashy Flash said. "And it's all nothing but physical strength and sheer combat prowess, without even a hint of discipline and proper training..."

"Hmm, what was that power you used earlier anyway, King? The bloodlust radiating off you even seeped out the training room, affecting those in the observation room." Silver Fang asked.

"Oh, that's another one of my powers. I call it the 'Crown Of Rage'. It multiplies my physical capabilities and fighting prowess five-fold every minute, going no further than fifty times my base strength." King explained. "A downside is that the whole time it is active, I lose almost all reason and can't tell when to stop."

"A frightening power..." Atomic Samurai said. "And you used it on Darkshine?"

"Well... I heard his toughness was the greatest among all the S-Classes, so I thought he might be able to handle it."

"That, And I asked Tatsumaki to stop me in case I went too far, didn't I? Why didn't she stop me?" King asked.

"She tried." The three wounded S-Classes responded in unison.

"Wait, what?"

"You were constantly surrounded by a green glow, and before you landed killing blows, you were frozen for a fraction of a second, allowing us to get away. If it wasn't for her, we'd have died multiple times." Atomic Samurai said. "Hate to say it, but we owe our lives a few times over to her right now."

"I-I see..." King said, not expecting his 'Crown Of Rage' to be so powerful. "And where is Darkshine? Is he okay?"

"Ah, him... who knows? After we got him out of here, we were just fighting you for thirty minutes." Atomic Samurai said. "Honestly, I'm impressed that he's even kept his cool that long against you. That amount of killing intent you radiated would be enough to paralyze any untrained man."

"Yep. You should go show yourself to him, show that you're back to normal." Silver Fang said.

"I should go apologize to him... are you sure you guys don't need any help?" King asked for the last time.

"Yeah. Look, a few employees are arriving here now. They're probably here for clean-up. We'll leave after we've caught our breath." Silver Fang assured.

King left the building, and immediately saw Darkshine huddled in a small corner.

"Um, Darkshine..." King started, but when Darkshine noticed King, he immediately got up in fear.

"Hey, wait! I'm perfectly fine now, see?" King said, waving his hand around. "I'm also not trying to kill you, okay?"

"Y-you're really back to normal, Mr King?" Darkshine asked, still afraid of King.

Earlier, he was just on the floor to catch his breath, so that he could go back in and help Silver Fang, Atomic Samurai and Flashy Flash suppress King, but when he saw how King was being pressured by Tatsumaki's psychic power and still causing the three S-Class heroes to go on the defensive... he just couldn't.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I thought since you said you were one of the most resilient S-Class heroes, I was thinking maybe I could use my power. But I suppose that was wishful thinking. Even Tatsumaki helping to restrain me wasn't enough. Sorry about that, I just wanted to test it out to see how it'd work against human combatants. I didn't think it'd be that devastating." King said, a feeling of awkwardness washing over him.

"O-okay..." Darkshine said, a downcast expression on his face. "Say, Mr King..."

"Do you think I should quit being a hero?"

"Hmm? What kind of question is that?" King asked. "_Quit? No way in hell! There's a God-level threat coming in the future, I'd be damned if I let even one of you quit!"_

"I just... you probably didn't see it, but when you were in your berserk state earlier, I couldn't even withstand more than twenty blows. It barely took me thirty seconds to admit defeat and run away, while the other three S-Class heroes stood their ground for all of thirty minutes. I'm not fit to be a hero..." Darkshine said. "I've realized something after fighting you, Mr King. I've always fought monsters because I only wanted to feel good about myself. I was never in a fight where my life was on the line."

"Even when I lost, I always took it in stride, because I never really had a threat to my life. I've only ever lost against fellow heroes in sparring, like when I fought Silver Fang, I lost because of his mastery in the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, where I was basically fighting against Silver Fang and myself, to boot." Darkshine said. "But against you..."

"You don't need to say any more. That was my fault entirely, for thinking that I could use that against another human. I assumed that you might be able to handle it, but I suppose I'll keep it for a group of Dragon-level threats as per usual." King sighed. "But I only have one thing to say."

"Don't quit being a hero. What'll people think of the Heroes Association if you quit? And if news got out that three, no, four S-Class heroes working together could only slow down one new S-Class hero, and that one famous S-Class hero was leaving, what would they think?" King encouraged. _"What they'll think, is that this new S-Class hero is insanely strong, and they'll immediately boot me up in rank! And give more work for me?! No way! Those five days are my free time, I'm not going to spend it killing monsters that are weaker than even the training mimics!"_

"What'd happen is that they'd lose faith in the old heroes, and with one of us gone, that's one less S-Class hero protecting the world. Imagine the criminals and monsters gaining a boost in confidence if an S-Class hero retires?" King said. _"They'd lose faith in the old heroes, and be incredibly confident in my ability to take down monsters! I heard it from my future self, there's no way that's happening! Also, the spike in criminal and monster activity will have to be solved by me, the new Rank 5 S-Class hero! I don't have time for that!"_

"Also... if the heroes run and hide, who will stay and fight?" King said. "_That'll be me... and I'm not going to do everything alone!"_

"Y-you're right. I shouldn't just escape because I lost one fight, against a fellow hero, no less!" Darkshine said, rising up. "Thank you, Mr King. I've decided I'll continue working as a hero, even if I need to risk my life."

"That's the spirit. After all, that's what a hero does." King said, patting Darkshine on his back. "_Phew... you just need to stay a hero, that's all! When I deal with the God-level threat, you guys do everything else! I don't want to be the Rank 1 S-Class hero, sounds bothersome!"_

"Heh, that's what I'd expect from an S-Class hero. If you went ahead and left us, I might've lost respect for you." A voice suddenly called out from behind them, revealed to be Atomic Samurai on a stretcher, carried away by some Heroes Association employees, along with Silver Fang. Flashy Flash seemed to be following from behind, stubbornly refusing the stretcher to walk on his own; albeit with difficulty.

"Master!" Further down the corridor, three swordsmen... err, there was one swordswoman? Oh wait, no. That was just a cross-dresser.

"Master, who did this to you?!" The disciple wearing iron-plated armor asked Atomic Samurai.

"Iaian, do not worry. I may be harmed, but I'll be up and about in a day or two." Atomic Samurai chuckled, reassuring his disciple. "And the one who did this? He's right over there." Atomic Samurai pointed at King.

"You bastard! You are the one that hurt our master?!" One of the disciples wearing traditional samurai gi said, unsheathing his sword... lance?

"Stop it, Bushidrill! The three of you combined won't even hurt a hair on his head." Atomic Samurai said.

"But, master-" Iaian wanted to protest, but a sword blade suddenly appeared in front of his neck.

"As I am right now, killing the three of you would prove effortless. Me, your master, and Silver Fang combined could only go on the defensive against him, while we were at our optimal states." Flashy Flash said, sheathing his sword.

"Wait, master working together with Silver Fang and Flashy Flash still couldn't defeat him?!" Iaian said, terror in his eyes as he looked at King. This new addition to the S-Class was actually that powerful?!

"Hahahahaha! Defeat him? As if, we were on the defensive the whole time, and if Tatsumaki wasn't supporting us the whole time with her ESP, we'd have died a few times!" Atomic Samurai laughed.

"I'm afraid I have to agree on that one. Even with all three of us working together, with Tatsumaki helping us on the side, we still couldn't do anything but defend against King's onslaught." Silver Fang chuckled.

"Yeah, still, sorry about that." King apologized, the awkwardness still there. He honestly didn't expect three other S-Class heroes to be wounded as a cause of him activating his 'Crown Of Rage'!

"Well then, I overheard your conversation with Darkshine earlier, King, and I have a proposal..." Silver Fang suddenly piped up from the stretcher.

"In a few days time, after I've healed from these injuries, come visit my dojo in City Z. You should have heard about it, yes?" Silver Fang suggested.

"That famous dojo with hundreds of disciples?" Darkshine said. "I've heard of it! It's on top of a mountain with a waterfall nearby."

"Oh, I've heard of it long ago. I passed by the place a few times before." King said, remembering when in his youth, he passed by Silver Fang's dojo a few times, when he went to those gaming tournaments.

"Ah, so you know where my dojo is? That's good. Why don't you two visit me in a few days when I've healed? I have a proposal." Silver Fang said, before being carried away by the Heroes Association employees.

"Okay. I don't mind." Darkshine said. "What about you, Mr King?"

"Sure." King said. "_I don't want to, but at least I'd have finished Doki-Doki Sisters: Pink Skies by then. Speaking of which, I need to go!"_

"I'll leave first." King said. "_I hope no one entered my house. I left in such a hurry to finish the meeting I forgot to turn off the TV!"_

"Alright, see you in two days at Silver Fang's dojo, King!" Darkshine waved at King's departing figure, before returning to his training room- his secondary training room, where he left all his workout equipment.

"...That new S-Class hero, King, forced master, Silver Fang, and even Flashy Flash to go on the defensive, even when they were working together, while being supported by Tatsumaki on the side, as well?" Iaian said after a long time.

"I-I can't believe it... master? Losing?" Bushidrill stammered. His core beliefs, that his master was invincible with a sword in hand, was shattered into pieces!

"How terrifying..." Okamaitachi said after a while.

"An absolute monster..." Iaian said. That was the only description they could give King. He chuckled at first, when he heard that there was a new S-Class hero joining the Heroes Association, and he was called 'King' no less. And the title of 'The Strongest Man On Earth' was almost laughable, after remembering that monsters like Tatsumaki, Darkshine, Silver Fang, their master and Blast existed.

Now? Now did they realize that King was indeed the true monster compared to the other S-Class heroes, and if he didn't deserve the title of 'The Strongest Man On Earth'? No one did.

* * *

**[Two days later, in Silver Fang's Dojo...]**

Silver Fang was seated in front of a table, both King and Darkshine in front of him, in a separate room. In the courtyard, King and Darkshine could see Silver Fang's hundreds of disciples training their martial art, the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.

"Well, I didn't expect you to have healed up in just two days time. That was fast. That's a good thing, though." King said, sipping the tea that he was served.

"I'm not as young as I used to be, so my apologies for taking longer to recuperate." Silver Fang smiled. "These old bones can't last very long without rest."

"So anyway, what was your 'proposal'?" King asked.

"Well... for Darkshine, I'm thinking to teach him how to meditate, to find peace and his true objectives. If he wants to learn my martial art, I'd be more than pleased to teach him, too." Silver Fang said, grinning.

"So you still want some disciples, anyway." King sweat-dropped. "Aren't those hundreds of disciples enough?" King pointed to the disciples in the courtyard.

"Well, a few more can't hurt." Silver Fang shrugged. "It's up to Darkshine, though."

"I-I don't think that's too bad an idea. In case I meet an enemy that I cannot defeat with my physical strength alone, I suppose learning a new martial art won't be all that bad..." Darkshine said.

"Well, that's up to you." King couldn't care less. He just wanted to leave as soon as possible. He had already finished with Doki-Doki Sisters: Pink Skies and found his favorite route, though as his gamer-instincts commanded, what he needed to do next was find all the possible endings. Whether they were the worst possible endings or the strangest, most secretive endings, he wanted to know them all.

"And for you, King, I was actually planning to introduce you my martial art, the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, though I'd think you're pretty familiar with it already." Silver Fang said.

"Actually, no. Whenever my 'Crown Of Rage' is active, I lose all reason and can barely remember anything. The only real thing I can remember is broken pieces of memories, and the most recent one was defending against a joint attack from you three, strengthened by Tatsumaki's psychic power." King said. "I can't really recall any more than than."

"Ah, yes. We were actually planning to defeat you with that strike, but you shrugged it off like nothing." Silver Fang said embarrassingly. That was supposed to be the final blow, with everything they had left. King shrugged it off like nothing at the time, and it was a good thing that his power wore off at that time. Otherwise, their survival wasn't guaranteed.

"But I suppose a demonstration is in order." Silver Fang said, as he stood up, and practiced the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.

After a short demonstration later, Silver Fang stopped, and asked the two; "So how was it, what are your impressions?"

"Wow, it's as impressive as always, Silver Fang." Darkshine said in awe. "I didn't need a demonstration, though. I know your style pretty well, seeing as I got beaten by it before." Darkshine smiled wryly.

"I see... but what does King think?" Silver Fang turned to look at King, praying that the bait he cast would catch the fish.

"Huh... what he said. It's pretty impressive." King said. "_Thinking back, my future self said that he regretted not improving his combat sense and skills before getting the 'King Engine', and according to him, Silver Fang died protecting City Q? Maybe I could learn it and teach my future self the martial art. I mean, he can't just walk in here and ask for Silver Fang to train him, right?"_

"Please, just call me Bang." Bang chuckled. "I'm in my dojo now, I'd prefer it if people just called me by my name."

"Alright, Bang." King said. "I guess I have some time, and here's a small question... you have room for another disciple?" King asked.

"Oh?! So you want to join?!" Bang asked, excitement clear on his face. He's caught him, hook, line and sinker!

"Sure, why not?" King said, which made Bang cheer inwardly.

"_Oh, my disciples are going to get the shock of their lives. Two junior S-Classes... Garou'll be pleased to have new sparring partners!" _Bang thought.

* * *

**{In the courtyard...}**

"So anyway, these two will be joining us today. Please go easy on them." Bang introduced Superalloy Darkshine and King to his disciples.

"A-ah. I'm Superalloy Darkshine, an S-Class hero. Please give me pointers on how to practice the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist." Darkshine said, feeling awkward. It was true that he wanted to learn the art, but introducing himself as an S-Class hero in front of all of them... it was a smidge awkward.

"I'm King, another S-Class hero. I'll be under your guidance." King said calmly. _"Let's get this over with..."_

"U-um... Master Bang, are these S-Class heroes really joining us?" A disciple asked uneasily. What were S-Class heroes, existences almost like their master, humans that have surpassed common sense, doing here, in a dojo where weaklings come to learn self defense?

"Yes. They just enrolled a minute ago, and I'm introducing them to you now." Bang said.

"I-If I may, Master Bang, but why would two S-Class heroes want to learn the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist? Aren't they plenty strong on their own?" A disciple with a strangely taut face asked. He looked as if he ate WAY too many sour foods, and his face was stuck that way.

"It doesn't matter why they want to learn from us. No matter who you were, I never questioned you when you wanted to learn under me, did I?" Bang smiled.

"It's okay. I don't mind telling why I'm here." Darkshine said.

"Is that so? Alright, then." Bang said.

"To tell you the truth... I'm a bit lacking in confidence after a recent sparring match, so I was thinking Silver Fang- ah, Mr Bang could help me with that. I also thought learning the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist would be beneficial for me." Darkshine said. "That's about it, and I hope I can get along with all of you." Darkshine bowed courteously, which surprised most- if not all of the students. Most S-Class heroes were arrogant about their power, but Darkshine seemed...humble?

"A sparring match? Did you spar against old man Bang and lose or something?" A cocky voice sounded from within the group.

"Garou! Do not be rude to your juniors!" Bang reprimanded.

"It's okay. He's only asking a question." Darkshine said. "Well, I did lose against Mr Bang when I sparred against him some time ago, but that wasn't the sparring match I was talking about."

"I was sparring against Mr King here... and lost badly. I don't even want to talk about what happened..." Darkshine said, an awkward look on his face.

"Oh~? This King must be pretty strong, huh?" Garou continued to ask. "Well, he certainly looks the part! I'm getting chills just looking at him. He looks like he's roaring to go into battle right now..." Garou smirked.

"Ah, about that..." Both Darkshine and Bang looked away, and King turned away from them in awkwardness.

The disciples, sensing the awkwardness, were confused. King and Darkshine they could understand, but why their master?

"Well... you remember when I wasn't here for two days?" Bang said. "Well... I was recuperating from my injuries. I lied about visiting my brother."

"Recuperating? Did you lose, old man?" Garou further pushed the metaphorical knife deeper into his master's chest.

"Hey, don't be rude to Master Bang! Besides, there's no way Master Bang could've lost... it must've been a hard fought battle!" The disciple with the sour-face said.

"Ah, loosen up a little, Sour Face." Garou said. "I was just joking."

"Well... I, Atomic Samurai and Flashy Flash had to work together..." Bang said, which surprised his disciples. Needing to work together with two more well-known S-Class heroes? What monster were they fighting? Multiple Dragon-level threats? "...and Tatsumaki was supporting us with her psychic powers..."

That shocked them. Tatsumaki? The number two S-Class hero? She was known for her psychic powers and horrible temperament, so in order to work together with three other S-Class heroes... what monsters did they face?! A whole group of Dragon-level threats?!

"Even when working together... we could only go on the defense against King's onslaught."

The whole dojo was silent.

"Oi, oi, old man, that's not funny." Garou was the first to break the silence. "You mean to say, you, Atomic Samurai, and Flashy Flash worked together, and were supported by Tatsumaki, and she didn't take the offensive at all..."

"...And you could only go on the defensive against King?"

When his top-disciple put it that way... Bang had to admit, it sounded absolutely ludicrous. Tatsumaki was known for her incredible psychic powers and short temper, she would definitely go on the offensive and restrain King herself. But instead, she was supporting the three of them instead?

"Well, you see..." Bang then started to narrate the entire experience to his disciples.

After the recollection of what happened. Bang's students were in a trance, seemingly unable to process that one man managed to force three S-Class heroes, the 'nuclear-powered' master swordsman Atomic Samurai, the fastest ninja in the world, Flashy Flash, and their master, one of the living treasures of the martial arts world... while being supported by the strongest esper Tatsumaki... on the defensive?

Their master had no reason to lie to them, and Darkshine didn't seem to object to it at all, which meant...

Looking at King again, they now saw the true terror of the man. His title of 'The Strongest Man On Earth' wasn't for show... he had the strength to back it up!

"And you mean to say... such a powerful person... wants to learn your martial art? Despite quite literally beating you without a challenge?" Garou said. "...But why?"

All the students, Darkshine and Bang themselves also turned to King, to find the man's answers.

"...I honestly just thought it'd be interesting, that's all." King said simply without any thought to it. And it was true, he just thought that it'd be interesting to learn the martial art that his future self didn't get the chance to learn.

"..._cough cough, _Well then, the introductions are over... let's get back to training, shall we?" Bang said, breaking everyone aside from King himself out of their stupor. "King, Darkshine, follow me. I'll personally teach you the basics..."

* * *

**[One week later...]**

"...Congratulations, King. You've managed to surpass me in my own martial art... in less than a week." Bang said, utterly impressed. After just three days of training and teaching him how the martial art worked, King excused himself for the weekends to do his own 'personal training'.

On the first day of the next week, King suddenly showed up and requested a spar...

The results of the spar was that King managed to defeat him, with his own martial art, he should add, in under a minute. It was true that it wasn't fully his own martial art and that King made some improvisations to it here and there, but it was mostly his own martial art! The one he founded, and practiced for decades of his life! His proudest work!

Yet King just learnt it for three days, took two days off for 'personal training'... and he came back, only slightly less versed in the art than he, but making it up with various self-made improvisations to improve its battle potential... there was no other way to put it. The student had surpassed the master. Or was King even considered a 'student' in the first place?

Perhaps it was just a master looking at an intermediate practitioner's art, polishing it with his own improvements, and surpassing the inventor's own mastery over the art?

"Well then, Garou. Looks like the title of my top-disciple goes to King now, though I don't think he'll keep it. He's surpassed me already." Bang said, oddly content.

"That's amazing, King! You've managed to learn the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist in under a week!" Darkshine praised, wearing a comically large martial arts gi that barely fit his massive frame. "Isn't that amazing, Garou?"

Garou said nothing, as he stared at King intensely.

"_...Is he pissed that I stole his spot of the top disciple or something?"_ King thought, noticing Garou's unusual gaze towards him. "_Well, it shouldn't matter. I was only here for what, three days? He'll probably go back to normal once I leave."_

_"Also, if I'm not mistaken, that's the future 'human monster', isn't he? My future self said that Saitama managed to defeat him easily, though. Should I worry about that...?" _King thought. "_Nah, no point trying to change the future all that much. If it'll solve itself without me needing input in the future, then it shouldn't be a problem I need to worry about right now."_

_"And now... I can go back home and play the third part of Doki-Doki Sisters! I'm coming for you, Doki-Doki Sisters: Shimmering Dusk!"_

_"Still... this martial art... it doesn't feel very comfortable." _King thought, looking at his fist. It somehow didn't feel... right.

"...I have nothing more to teach you, King. You've surpassed me in my own martial art." Bang said. "Though..."

"I also have another suggestion."

_"Ah, dammit. What now?" _King thought, annoyed, though he showed none of it outwardly. "Yes?"

"My older brother practices the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, his own self-invented martial art. It's different from my own, which is focused on redirection and defense. My brother's martial art is mostly offensive, which seems more catered to you. Why don't you go and learn under him, as well? Maybe you'll be able to master the technique that requires two users to perform on your own, eh?" Bang joked.

"Oh, sure. I'm down for that." King said, any previous trace of annoyance gone. The Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist? He was thinking about going to learn it sometime in the future, but who knew that such an opportunity would arise right now?

"Well then, I'll write a letter of recommendation to my brother. Give me a minute..." Bang said, getting up from the floor.

* * *

**[5 minutes later...]**

"Here, I've written everything in this letter. He'll know it's from me. Do you know the address?" Bang asked.

"Yeah. I was actually planning to pay him a visit myself, but you've saved me some time. I have to thank you for that." King said.

"Oh, you were planning to learn my brother's martial art of your own volition? That's a good mindset to keep, King. Learning more and more different styles of combat will only serve to make you stronger." Bang said.

"Well, I was just interested in the martial art, but thanks anyway." King thanked. "Well, I'll be going now." King said, before disappearing in a display of extreme speed.

"Huh, was it just me, or did he get faster?" Darkshine asked.

"That's strange, he definitely got faster... he didn't even activate his 'Crown Of Rage', or whatever it was called. He wasn't using the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist to increase his speed, either. He just got faster in general..." Bang commented. "I wonder, just what kind of 'personal training' he underwent in two days..."

* * *

**[In Bomb's dojo...]**

Bomb was watching his disciples train until he heard a knock on the door.

"I'll see who it is, Master Bomb." A disciple whom was resting from the previous group's training got up to answer whomever was at the door.

The disciple then returned with King. "Master, t-this is the newest S-Class hero, King. He says that he was sent by a fellow S-Class hero, Silver Fang, or Master Bang of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist."

Bomb looked interested. "My otouto?"

* * *

**[Later...]**

"So... you were recommended here by my brother Bang to learn my martial art?" Bomb asked.

"Yes."

"...And you were recommended here because you already mastered his martial art... in one week?" Bomb asked again.

"Yes."

Bomb read his little brother's letter again and again, seemingly unable to believe the words on it.

It was definitely his brother's letter, the signature at the bottom and the handwriting was accurate to the last bit, the family dojo's stamp was even beside his little brother's signature. There was no way it was falsified!

But the descriptions... forcing his little brother and two other S-Class heroes to go on the defensive despite being supported by another S-Class hero, without martial arts? Just pure physical strength and fighting skills? It was unbelievable, no, it was completely inconceivable! If such a strong human existed... even he'd have heard of him! True, he was a new S-Class hero, but his feats must have at least been spread to the point the Heroes Association was the one to scout him out, right?

"M-Master Bomb, on the day after he was inducted as an S-Class hero, he single-handedly decimated a whole swarm of Demon-level threat monsters in City M! I know because I was there myself! I didn't see him fight, but I saw the aftermath of the battle. So many corpses..." The disciple shivered before continuing. "Someone managed to record him fighting the swarm, though!" A disciple suddenly piped up.

"Show me the video." Bomb said calmly. He'd judge King himself afterwards. Now, he wanted to see the video that his disciple was talking about.

After watching the video. Bomb was left in disbelief. Such strength and fighting skills, why did he want to learn his martial art in the first place? What was his little brother thinking?!

...No matter. It was time for his own test.

"I see that you're a man of great skill, King. But, allow this old man to perform one test on you." Bomb said.

"Go ahead." King said.

Bomb suddenly attacked King with the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, and just a moment before the attack landed, his attack was redirected elsewhere with a martial art he was all too familiar with.

"T-that's..."

"That's Master Bang's Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!" A disciple shouted, pointing at King's stance.

"_'U-unbelievable! His mastery is almost comparable to my little brother's own mastery! It's not fully like his own martial art, and there's improvisations here and there, but it's undoubtedly my little brother's martial art!"_ Bomb thought.

Coughing, Bomb said. "Well, you've passed. The rest of you lot, keep training. King, I'll teach you the basics my my martial art personally..."

* * *

**[One week later...]**

It was now Bomb's turn to be on the floor, defeated by King's rendition of his own technique. Less honed, but with certain improvisations that more than made up for the difference in skill. That difference wasn't even all that big, to be honest! It was almost on par with his!

Honestly? He scoffed when he suddenly approached him, asking for a spar after his two days off. He thought that he was being overconfident after beating his brother after a couple days.

Now he knew how his brother felt. To be beaten at his own martial art, in less than a week...

It was humbling, to be sure. Humiliating? Not in the least. In fact, he felt slightly satisfied, fulfilled, even.

"K-King just beat Master Bomb at the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist."

"I-I'm dreaming, right?"

"T-that can't be! He was just training with us normally a few days ago! What'd he do in those two days he took off?!"

While Bomb's disciples were chatting among themselves, Bomb was only satisfied with the progress of his newest student. Well, he couldn't really call him a student anymore, being surpassed and all that.

But at least, he could say with pride that 'The Strongest Man On Earth' was once his disciple... for a few days.

"Well, I have nothing more to teach you. You've surpassed me in the martial art that I invented in just a few days, when I spent decades honing my craft. Despite that, I feel no shame." Bomb said, sitting up. "I now know how my brother felt, and why he described you that way in that letter."

"What? How'd he describe me in that letter?" King asked.

"Well..." Bomb said, eyeing the letter on his table. "It's not important. The point is, you're a martial genius that I've never seen before. Those that can master my little brother's martial arts and my own in five years can already be considered a genius that appears once every million years. To spend just two weeks? You might just be the only martial prodigy in history to do so."

"Um... thanks." King said. It was awkward when he thought about how it didn't take him two weeks to master the art, it actually took him a little over a year and a half to master each martial art, with six months to get used to it, and adding his own improvisations to the martial art.

Still, seeing as he could be considered a genius that appeared every million years, if anything, that made King feel a little proud. That was immediately squashed though, remembering how his future self only took three months to learn each martial art on his own. All King did was tell him how the basics worked, practiced it a little in front of his future self, and then after three months, he already mastered the art to the point it felt as if the art belonged to him and not the two old practitioners.

If anything, he just felt sorry for both Bang and Bomb. They spent decades, literal decades of their life mastering the art they invented, and he just up and surpassed them in a little over three years. And thinking how his future self mastered it in just 6 months...?

Honestly, King couldn't care less. That was his future self, after all. Not to mention, that future self was 146 years old!

"Well now, I've nothing more to teach you, and you've already surpassed me." Bomb said. "I could suggest a few other masters you could learn under..."

_"Fuck." _King thought.

"...but I don't think so. You have both the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist. Not to brag, but martial arts that can stand toe-to-toe with our own are few and far between." Bomb said. "I'd say you're well off already. If you want to learn more, I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

"What I can do, however, is congratulate you. I'd say this, for me and my brother; if you ever quit the hero business, both our dojos are open to you. We'll welcome a great master like you anytime." Bomb said, shaking King's hand.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Bomb." King said, leaving the dojo in another great display of speed. _"I still don't feel too comfortable with this martial art either, though."_

* * *

**[Saturday, inside the time room...}**

"So, you mean to say; you finally learnt both the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, but you're not comfortable with them?" The older King asked, putting down his manga.

King sighed, looking up at the blank sky during his break. He just finished killing a few Dragon-level threats, after all. "Yep. I tried to use them, but it just... I don't know, feel right? Though I did use mostly my own improvisations when practicing them... they still don't seem right. I even tried combining both, but it just isn't... comfortable. It feels... weird. I can't really describe it any more than that."

"You don't need to. I get what you're saying. I'm you, remember?" The older King said. "It doesn't feel... natural, like you have to actually think about doing it, otherwise it doesn't work, yeah?"

"Yeah, exactly! I thought martial arts masters said that they can master the art to the point it's second nature to them. It doesn't seem that way to me." King said.

"Hmm... they say that you need decades of usage and training to fully master a martial art to the point its ingrained into them, unless it's a martial art they invented on their own." The older King said. After thinking for a few moments, he snapped his fingers.

"I know, we have the weekend; which is basically another two years for us, we might as well take the time to create our own martial art style." The older King said, sitting up and placing his manga down. "I always thought about creating my own martial art style some twenty years before I came back in time, but with all the strong people dead, I had no one to train under; or even take inspiration from."

"Now that we have both the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, let's just make a new one with the martial arts you learnt. We'll adapt the best of both martial arts, take inspiration from other simpler martial arts like karate, judo, etc, and create our own martial art." The older King suggested. "If we make it ourselves, it'll be much easier to master and more comfortable to use."

"Well, we do have another two years..." King said, thinking. "Should we come up with a name or something? I mean, all the martial arts have cool names, like Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, etc."

"Hmm... I actually have an idea. Sometime in the future, I met that one alien martial artist. He was pretty strong. Really strong, actually. I'd say he'd be stronger than Bang and Bomb combined. Too bad he was an enemy and I had to take him down. Something about some over-mind entity brain-washing him. I took that thing out, too."

"You met another alien?" King asked.

"Well, a different kind than the ones that invaded City A maybe a year in the future." The older King said. "I assume, anyway. I've never actually seen them in person."

"That guy was pretty amazing, I'll say that outright. If he was physically stronger, he might be considered a God-level threat like that 'God' and that 'Chronos' fellow. It was too bad his species's physiology is basically shit for physical combat. He barely looks humanoid at all. He was three meters tall, his appendages were all the same thickness, like 5 to 7 centimeters, and he didn't have a nose or mouth."

"Huh, that's an interesting physiology... well, what's his name?" King asked.

"Yadon, I think."

"That... doesn't seem like a good name for a martial art."

"Well, I didn't mean name it after his name. What I mean is name it after HIS martial art."

"Isn't that plagiarism?"

"Yeah, you're right... wait, I remember he said something before he died. Something along the lines of 'I regret not passing down my martial art, yet, I am content, for if in the wrong hands, my martial art can bring forth the apocalypse,' like that." The older King said, snapping his fingers once more. "I've an idea, how about..."

"**King Style: Apocalypse**?"

* * *

**CONTINUE**

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, you can comment on anything

Have a good day and enjoy

Peace, love and metal (in honor to caleb)

I think I look better, i hope you think that too

**Editor's Note: I didn't change all that much aside from how the sub-powers worked. ****That, and the results of the spar. **


	4. Chapter 4 Martial arts and bad losers

**Hey, I know I said I wasn't going to upload a new chapter anytime soon and I wasn't really thinking about doing it, but my editor offered to do the entire chapter on his own.**

**So if there is someone to thank for a new chapter, it is my editor Trascended Potato**

**Anyway, I want to say that later today or tomorrow another story will open, the reasons will be within it**

**That's it, I hope you enjoy the chapter and, well, let's start**

* * *

"King Style: Apocalypse?" King said. "To be honest, it sounds a little..."

"Lame?" King said, remarking about the name.

"Meh, I don't have any other ideas, then. That guy's name doesn't work, using the name of his martial art is also plagiarism... you have any ideas?" The older king shrugged.

"You know what, let's just go with it. I don't really care about the name, anyway." King said.

"Right. Let's get started, then. I had a few ideas already..."

* * *

**{In the time room, the sixth month since the founding of King Style: Apocalypse...]**

"So, you know how a judo throw works?" The older King said. "All you have to do is transfer as much energy as possible to the throw, like a one-inch-punch, then transfer the energy with the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist to the tip, and just release it all at once. "Try it on me."

"You sure about this?" King asked, unsure. This whole time, He was just testing those moves on his future self, and though he seemed to be completely unfazed, this move seemed... unsafe.

"Don't worry about it. My base strength is already incredibly high. I don't even need to activate my King Engine to take care of God-level threats, so that's saying something." The older King said. "Just do it, I won't feel a thing."

"Alright..." King said, as he tried the move on his future self.

Grabbing him, King used his physical strength to direct the throw, used parts of the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist to direct more energy, and as his future self was about to hit the ground, King released the energy all at once...

An extreme explosion of force blew everything around them away, leaving a crater where the point of impact was.

"Hmm, not bad. You've basically destroyed half of City Q." The older King said, completely unaffected by King's throw.

"Well... I'm more impressed at how you've been practically unfazed at all the entire time I've been practicing those techniques on you." King said.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. Well, I suppose this move is good enough." The older King said. "Maybe it could use more improvements, try increasing the torque on your hips to generate more momentum..."

* * *

**[Nine months since the founding of King Style: Apocalypse...]**

"A good movement technique would be one that could get you places that doesn't affect the surroundings. If you run normally, you're bound to cause some damage to the structure around you." The older King said. "We could try using the Water Stream Rock smashing Fist to redirect the energy to push the ground beneath us, and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist's wind manipulation could be used to reduce the wind pressure in front of us, and we can also use that redirected wind to push us further, gaining more momentum.

"Try it out over there, I'll measure the top speed you can achieve." King pointed at the City A airport runway.

"Okay, wait- why aren't you testing it out?" King asked.

"Well, I'll do my own measurements later. The important part is you learning some cool moves that can turn the tide of a fight." The older King nonchalantly said. "Go ahead, I'll be measuring it myself."

"Fine, then." King said, getting into a running start, and ran with the support of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist.

As King arrived at the end of the airport, his future self was already waiting for him.

"That's about fifteen, almost sixteen times the speed of sound. Kind of disappointing, it's only twice as fast as your current top speed, I was expecting at least three." The older King remarked.

"Wait, only twice? Maybe I was redirecting the force wrong..." King said, similarly disappointed at the speed he achieved.

* * *

**[Fifteen months since the founding of King Style: Apocalypse...]**

"I think we can go back to basics. Maybe a combo of punches and kicks will work?" King suggested. "Just hard and fast punches aimed at the weak points."

"Sounds easy enough. A combo of both Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist at the same time would be pretty devastating on its own. We can add out own style into it, to make it more comfortable." The older King said. "Or, we could abandoned both and just use our own method of a combo attack."

"Yeah, I was thinking that. We've been using the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist a lot, I was thinking we could invent our own attacks, otherwise it'll just be an extension of both martial arts." King said.

"You're right about that. Maybe we'll create moves that aren't based on either martial art from now..." The older King said.

* * *

**[Eighteen months since the founding of King Style: Apocalypse...]**

"We're almost done. I think we can unveil our own King Style: Apocalypse, now." The older King said, satisfied. "You don't need to do more work, either. I've obtained enough information, I'll do some experimenting on my own, later."

"So, now what?" King asked.

"Now what? More training, obviously. You can go test out your new skills on some High-Dragon level threats." The older King said. "While that, I'll create some improvisations on my own. Before you leave, I'll probably have eked out a few more moves for you."

"Well, I guess I expected it." King sighed. "Still, there's only 6 more months. You're gonna create some moves on your own? You're a monster, you know that?"

"Heh, says the one that's only 28... actually, no, 32." The older King said. "We can just consider you as 28, though. You don't age a day in here, anyway."

"Right... wait, if that's so, how old are you, actually?" King asked. "There's no way you didn't use the time room before going back in time, right?"

"Err... oh hey, look, seven Dragon-level threats for you to test your moves on!" The older King pointed at the seven Dragon-level threats he just materialized through the room, completely turning the flow of the conversation elsewhere.

...

...

...

* * *

**[Two years since the founding of King Style: Apocalypse...]**

"I'd say this training session was rather successful. You spent almost all of the last four years training both the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, so you weren't able to train your physical strength all that much." The older King remarked. "Still, I think you should at least go out and use some of the moves on your own, to be sure."

"Yeah, I'm not doing that, yet. I didn't play part 3 and 4 of Doki-Doki Sisters yet because I was busy learning the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist." King said. "You just gave me part 5, as well, so I'm spending those five days on playing them."

"Heh, don't you worry. The next time you come in, I'll give you the 6th part. My personal favorite, aside from the last game." The older King said. "After that... you should be strong enough to handle God-level threats on your own, so you can come in and train whenever you want, and not just because of Doki-Doki Sisters."

"Well, I'm leaving." King said, entering the glass chamber.

"Right. Oh, wait! I almost forgot. Sometime around now, Garou beats up his fellow disciples and gets expelled from the dojo, so watch out for that, would you? If he doesn't become the 'human monster' in the future, that's one less pain in the ass for you." The older King reminded. "That doesn't mean kill him, though!"

"Don't worry, I won't." King said, as the glass chamber closed, and turned green.

Stepping out of the time room, King took another breath of fresh air.

"_Sigh... _I don't think I'll ever get used to that stale air in the time room... it's like being in an air-conditioned room for two whole years without anything else. Even the monster corpses don't smell at all..." King said, stretching.

"Now then..." King rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Parts 3, 4 and 5, here I come! I didn't get to play Shimmering Dusk because I went straight to Bomb's dojo... I better clear my schedule before the Heroes Association hands me some annoying task again..."

As if the world sensed his words, his phone suddenly rang.

"Oh for the love of..." King picked up the phone, expecting an annoying request from the Heroes Association.

"Hello, is this King's number?" But contrary to his expectations, it was actually Bang.

"Silver Fang? Is that you?" King asked.

"Please, I told you to just call me Bang." Bang said through the phone. "Anyway, I am glad I managed to reach you. This is actually a problem caused by my mouth. Old tongues love to wag."

"I see... and this problem is...?" King asked, a feeling of certain dread running through him. _"Please no. I think I know what it is, but please for the love of the next part of Doki-Doki Sisters don't let it be what I think it is-"_

"You see, I visited my old friend that was already on his deathbed, quite literally, in fact. I was so impressed by you mastering my martial art so quickly, I accidentally let slip that you mastered my martial art in less than a week." Bang said. "And now, he's refusing to die until he meets you."

"...Okay."

"_FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"_

"So who is this martial arts master?" King asked, ignoring his internal scream of despair.

"Ah, he's Master Suicho, of the Void Fist." Bang explained. "He taught only his two grandchildren his martial art, due to everyone that wanted to learn his martial art quit after the first month, some quit after the first week."

"Honestly, I don't know how it happened. He said he was at peace at how even though he only managed to teach two people his martial art, but when I said there was a martial arts prodigy that learnt my Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist in under a week, he went crazy, got out of his bed, and started asking me all about you."

"Now, he's practically begging me to get you to meet him, to get you to learn his martial art." Bang sighed. "I'm really sorry, but could you help me out? He doesn't seem to be letting up."

"Hmm... alright, then. Should I just meet you at your dojo, then?" King asked.

"Yes. Please hurry whenever you can, he's threatening to come over to my dojo if I don't introduce you to him in the next two days." Bang said. "And, thank you, King. I know you're not obligated to help me, so I thank you for agreeing."

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow." King said hanging up. Resisting the urge to shout out his grievances, King could only let his anger simmer down as he realized that it was a new martial art he could incorporate into the King Style.

Speaking of which, he and his future self separated the martial art into two. King Style, and King Style: Apocalypse. King Style was just normal attacks and basic moves that he could use without worrying. King Style: Apocalypse were moves that were... destructive, though that wasn't giving it enough justice. Catastrophic, more like. Some of the more dangerous skills could level the entire city, and some of the most powerful ones could destroy the city, and some neighboring ones as well.

There was also a slight difference to both styles. The King Style didn't have any of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist or Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist elements in them. The most was just referencing other martial arts, like Judo, Karate, Aikido, etc. Weapons training was also included.

The King Style: Apocalypse had everything incorporated into it. The Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, a combination of both, a combination of either and a different martial art, and some were unique to the King Style: Apocalypse, as they required the King Engine's Crowns in order to work.

Speaking of, King managed to unlock three of the seven Crowns so far.

"Well, I deal with it tomorrow. For now, I'll just enjoy Doki-Doki Sisters: Shimmering Dusk for as long as I can." King sighed, deciding to leave tomorrow's problems to tomorrow's him.

* * *

**[Tomorrow, at Bang's dojo...}**

"So... this is Master Suicho, of the Void Fist." Bang introduced King to Suicho.

"Nice to meet you." King extended a handshake. Suicho shakily took it. "A-are you really able to learn the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist in just under a week?"

"Well, I spent two days on personal training. I was honing it during those two days, but yeah. It wasn't perfect, but it's still the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist." King said.

"Perfect! I was hoping for so long... so long that I could have a proper disciple, aside from my two grandchildren!" Suicho said, pumping a fist. He did _not _look like a person that was on his deathbed a few days ago.

"Right. Just asking, what's the Void Fist mainly about?" King asked.

"Oh, it's a martial art where you shift your center of gravity in order to attack and defend." Suicho explained. "It's a mainly offensive art, though. It focuses on maximizing damage output while keeping a consistent flow of attacks. Our defensive capabilities are not to be scoffed at, either!"

"Interesting... Can you do a demonstration?" King asked.

"Of course!" Suicho said excitedly, as he demonstrated the Void Fist in front of King.

_"The idea behind the techniques are simple, but they're effective. Huh, didn't my future self think up something like this when we were experimenting?" _King thought, impressed. Though it wasn't the Water Stream Rock Smashing First or the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, it was still nothing to scoff at. In fact, King could call it comparable to them both, that's how impressive the Void Fist seemed.

"Hmm, that's an impressive martial art." King praised. "I'll definitely want to learn that."

"Right? Right?" Suicho said, preening. "It's a good martial art! And you'll make for a good disciple, as well!"

"Now, if you follow me back to my dojo-" Suicho wanted to continue, but then a younger voice interrupted him.

"Hey, grandpa! So you were here after all!" Turning to see who it was, King saw a dark-skinned young man with long black hair. He looked like the younger version of Suicho, and from how he called him 'grandpa', it would be safe to assume this was his grandson.

"Tsk, why're you here, Suiryu? Aren't you supposed to be practicing at the dojo?" Suicho said, getting irate.

"Hey, hey, no need to be so mad, old man. I did my daily training already." Suiryu grinned. "Also, Suiko has been complaining about me letting you run off without telling her."

"She found out, did she? You didn't tell her where I was, right?"

"Nope! I just said I'd go and find you, so here I am. I'm just gonna go fool around afterwards, so please make it back soon, old man. If not, Suiko'll talk my head off." Suiryu chuckled, annoying Suicho. "Speaking of which, I knew you went to visit Master Bang, but who's this guy?" Suiryu asked, looking at King.

"This is King, a new S-Class hero. He managed to learn and master the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist in just two weeks!" Suicho introduced King, excited. "He'll be learning under us starting tomorrow!"

"Nice to meet you." King formally introduced himself, earning a simple 'ehh~' from Suiryu.

"...And this, is my annoying grandson Suiryu, though you've probably known by now." Suicho sighed, introducing King to Suiryu.

"Hey! What do you mean annoying? I put up with your training plenty, don't I?" Suiryu said. "Furthermore, you're the annoying one, always asking us to constantly train! If I finish too fast, you tell me to do the whole training again. If I do it too slow, you scold me for slacking! You never complain when Suiko skips a day or two of training!"

"Tch! She at least puts in enough effort to make it up the day after! Whenever she 'skips' training, she's always out sparring with other martial artists! What about you, huh? Every time you go out, you just pick up girls! Whenever you come back, you just train like normal, hell, it'd be a miracle for you to not slack off once you're back!"

"Don't screw with me, grandpa! You were pretty popular when you were younger yourself, weren't you? Not to mention, I 'slack off', but that doesn't make me slower at learning your martial art, does it?"

"_Ptooey! _As if! Whenever I'm on your back, personally overseeing you, you improve leaps and bounds! If I 'leave you to it', you 'leave' for months on end, and when you come back, you don't show a smidgen of improvement!"

King witnessed the quarrel with a blank face, wanting nothing more than to get this over with and just learn the Void Fist as soon as possible. It was a good martial art, impressive, too. Useful? Very. But to be honest...

_"I! Just! Want! To! Play! Doki! Doki! Sisters! Why is it so hard?!" _King mentally screamed. He just wanted a nice few days for himself, so he could enjoy his games alone. But no, there's always training to deal with, and the weekends are two straight years of hellish training! Each! Live sparring with the martial arts was like a literal walk in the park compared to what he had to deal with on end! He may have been trained under his future self, but his future self was absolutely brutal to him! No mercy in the training whatsoever!

"Hmph! If I beat this 'King', you won't complain when I go out anymore, right?" Suiryu challenged, bringing the topic to King.

"Deal!" Suicho said, turning to look at King. "Don't hold back when you're sparring with my idiot grandson, show him what it feels like to lose!"

"Alright, then." King replied simply, getting up from the floor cushion. "Whenever you're ready."

"Right here, right now kinda guy, huh? I think we'll get along just fine." Suiryu said, stretching. "But right now..."

"I gotta beat you to prove my grandpa wrong!" Suiryu started with a high kick, King easily redirecting it with the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist.

"Whoa! He really did master your martial art, Bang!" Suicho cheered, looking at Bang.

"A-ah, yeah..." Bang replied. He was sideline the entire time, so he didn't know what to say when King ended up sparring with Suiryu all of a sudden.

"You're good, but I'll be taking this win!" Suiryu said, getting into a low stance before uppercutting King. King redirected the flow straight into a counter, Suiryu barely dodging it.

"I'd like to get to know you better, but I'd like to get this over with." King said, suddenly.

And suddenly, King disappeared from Suiryu's vision.

Suddenly having his legs kicked from underneath him, Suiryu hit the floor and before he realized it, King fist was right above his face.

"I can assume this was my win, yeah?" King asked Suicho.

"Y-yes! Definitely!" Suicho nodded happily. "As expected of the prodigy that learned both Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist in just two weeks!"

"W-what was that, King? I don't recall that technique being taught by either me or my brother." Bang asked, surprised.

"Oh, that? That's just a simple technique I came up with." King responded. "All I did was enter his blind spot and then move away from his field of vision the exact moment he blinked."

"A simple technique that doesn't work on martial arts masters, but it'll do for any other opponent."

"A-amazing! It's such a simple concept, but to pull it off on someone well-versed in martial arts is even more so!" Suicho praised. "And also, Suiryu! See what I mean? I never taught you about that kind of technique before, but when I was your age, I already knew how to defend against such attacks! I never learnt from a master, either! I figured that out myself!"

"...I don't believe it! Again!" Suiryu got up, a more serious expression covering his face.

King didn't say anything and used the same technique, but instead of doing the same thing, Suiryu managed to figure out the timing of when King appeared behind him, and countered with an elbow strike directly where King's abdomen should be.

Curbing the blow with his palm, King was surprised, to say the least. _"I know I basically explained the technique to him, but to have figured out how to counter it after just one attack is impressive."_

Pulling Suiryu off his feet with a simple throw, King once more had his fist directly above Suiryu's face.

"That looked like..." Bang began.

"Aikido. I used an Aikido throw and used the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist to make the force flow more smoothly." King continued explaining for Bang.

"What the... again!" Suiryu got up again, getting into a different stance than before, even lower down.

"_He's lowered down his center of gravity, the throw I used won't be as effective..." _King thought, preparing another move to use.

Watching Suiryu's fist approach him with mild interest, King used a low kick to throw Suiryu off balance and yet again, his fist was right in front of Suiryu's face.

"Why you..." Suiryu attempted to get up, but was knocked back down with a light backhand from King.

"Just stay down already. As you are now, you can't defeat me."

"Hmph! I told you that you needed more training! You think that training under me would be all you need in life? Think again! Not so tough now, are you?" Suicho said smugly, as if unworried that his grandson had fully lost to King.

"Is that so..." Suiryu grinned lightly, and while he was down, launched a kick straight to King's face. "How's that, jerk?!"

Suiryu spoke too soon, as he realized that King caught his heel with a palm.

"Look, I really don't want to fight you. I don't even need to use the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist to try and take you down." King said, which only served to infuriate Suiryu further.

"Shut up! What pisses me off is that you're not taking me seriously!" Suiryu said angrily.

"You never take any of your own opponents seriously, anyway..." Suicho said in the background.

"It's not that I'm not taking you seriously, it's just that..."

"The majority of the moves I learnt are meant to kill."

Just like that, Suiryu got a chill down his spine. That simple sentence somehow had a magical effect, as looking at King again, Suiryu could see the silhouette of a slaughterer- one that sowed lives without a second thought.

"Eh? Do you prefer the Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist to my Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist?" Bang asked with a downcast expression. "I suppose my martial art was more focused on defense for the weak, so it's not that good a combat art..."

"No, no, it's not that." King said. "I came up with a few moves of my own. It may be too soon, but I'm trying my hand at making my martial art."

And with that, Bang and Suicho's expression quickly turned into one of glee, looking at King excitedly. "A martial art of your own?! Quick, tell us how it works!"

"Yes! Yes! It's always great to welcome a new martial arts founder!"

"A-ah, don't get so excited. I say it's martial arts, but really, it's just a set of moves that I improvised on the fly when fighting monsters." King lied. His future self did it for him, most of it, anyway. "I don't really plan on teaching it, and the only way I'll expand it is in combat with other opponents." King said, trying to dampen the old martial artists.

It didn't seem to do anything of the sort, though, and only seemed to invigorate them more.

"That doesn't matter! That's how all martial art schools start, anyway!"

"A martial art that evolves in combat? That's a great way to improve one!"

The more King tried to calm then down, the more excited they got.

_"What the hell is with these old men... I just want to learn this new martial art... what is with them and being obsessed with martial arts?!"_

And so, King had to accompany the two old men with their discussions about martial arts.

**[2 hours later...]**

Though King had gone through for all intents and purposes, literal hell in the time room in the form of training under his future self that didn't seem to know the meaning of the words 'mercy' and 'pacing', King went through another form of hell just earlier-

Mental torture. It took all of King's willpower just to stop himself from falling asleep immediately. How the old men managed to keep talking for hours on end stumped King. To be honest? He'd rather be facing a hundred Dragon-level threats at once with a hand tied behind his back than talk with them for another second.

"Anyway, Suicho, shall we get to your dojo? I'll try out learning your martial art." King said, veering the conversation to a point where he could end it.

"Ah, right! I suppose old tongues due love to wag." Suicho said, realizing that they had been talking for about two hours.

"Right, right. Sorry for taking your time, Suicho. King would have gotten the basics down by now, if you left at the same time your grandson did." Bang said.

"Wait, speaking of him, he already left? I thought he'd have wanted to spar a little more. Huh, I suppose I misjudged him." King said. His first impression was that he was the carefree kind of guy, but was pretty stubborn when it came to it.

"I don't get it, either." Suicho said. "From what I know of my idiot grandson, he's carefree and all, but he's surprisingly stubborn when it comes to a fight. I suppose he gets that from me."

"But I didn't think he'd just up and leave after a while."

"I have a feeling that while I was chatting with you two, he presumably got bored of waiting and just left." King assumed.

"Probably. He'd struggle to sit still for 30 seconds." Suicho joked. "Well then, let's go. I'll bring you to my dojo."

* * *

**{Suicho's Dojo...}**

"Well... this is my dojo." Suicho said, opening the door to his dojo. It didn't look as impressive as Bang's dojo, but it was still a dojo. Not like size mattered to him, anyway. He'd just spend five days here, and then two years mastering the art in the time room. Five days of training in a small dojo was much better compared to two years of hellish combat training.

Well, he'd say hellish, but to be fair, most of the fights were only against multiple Dragon-level threats, which wasn't that big a threat, considering he had greater physical ability than Darkshine and had both the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and the Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist. Aside from Tatsumaki whom had psychic powers, Metal Knight with his army of robots and Blast whom was a complete unknown, he was fairly confident that he had the greatest fighting capability of the S-Classes. Every now and then he fought over a dozen or more Dragon-level threats which were the challenging bits, but it was still nothing too difficult.

Only whenever his future self decided to 'spar' with him every now and then was the training considered 'hellish'.

By Blast, he'd have better chances against a God-level threat. Speaking of which, his future self said something about a new method of training which was surviving for as long as possible against a God-level threat? Seriously, his future self was as merciless as he was good at gaming. It was to be expected, but his future self clearly outclassed him in gaming. Obviously, he had over a hundred more years of experience than he did. He even played genres that didn't even _exist _yet.

"Hey, grandpa!" A female voice called from the dojo, appearing to be a young woman whom looked almost exactly like Suiryu when she turned the corner. "Something's weird with Suiryu!"

"Suiryu's back already?" Suicho asked, surprised. "But he usually doesn't return until after two days, when he gets a few girlfriends and has fun with them!"

King blanched inwardly. He heard that his grandson was a lazy slacker that fooled around a lot, but he was a womanizer, too? Dammit, he wanted to try having a girlfriend, too... Still, at least he didn't need to deal with the annoyance that was other people.

Come to think of it, he never did ask his future self if he did get a girlfriend in the future... probably not. According to his future self, the world was mostly devastated by that 'God' fellow and fixing up the cities took quite some time, not to mention he did say something like spending a couple decades towards finding Saitama... it only triggered his intrigue about him. Who was that guy that saved him those few years ago?

"That's the thing! He's back, and he's... training!" The young woman said, her expression being a textbook definition of 'confused horror'.

"Training? Hmm, I guess that's a surprise to be sure, but not completely unexpected." Suicho said with an expression of mild surprise.

"B-but big bro Suiryu never trains properly! Not even if you offered to let him go do whatever he wants for a year! What happened?!" The young woman asked, still confused about her brother's actions.

"Ah, he lost, badly. He overestimated himself, and lost so badly that I could hardly hold in my happiness when I saw it!" Suicho said, laughing. "That'll teach him to slack off!"

"B-but who'd he lose to? And how badly did he lose? Even after you beat him up, he doesn't train as hard as this!" The young woman asked. "Oh, and who's this?"

"He's who Suiryu lost against. You know that prodigy that Bang talked about? The one that learnt and mastered both Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist in two weeks?" Suicho said.

"Yeah, Master Bang said he was a super-prodigy- wait, that wasn't an exaggeration?!"

"Hahahahaha! There's a lot of things you don't think can exist in this world, Suiko. You're not as carefree as your brother, but you're still green." Suicho laughed.

"Wait, I mean, he does look the part, but did he really master both the legendary Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist in two weeks?" Suiko said, skeptical. "He definitely looks strong, but I can't really believe that he mastered both arts so fast..."

"Well, you want to spar with him? Careful you don't end up like your brother~" Suicho egged on.

"Oh yeah?! I'll show you! I'll show big bro, too!" Suiko took the bait, hook, line and sinker. King could only sigh at how easy they were to egg into a fight.

"Same deal as your brother, whenever you want." King shrugged.

"Really? You don't want to end up-" Suicho suddenly appeared before King. "-underestimating me!"

But moments before her fist collided, King redirected the hit away form him with Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist and did a light counter with the same energy she tried to hit him with.

"Gurk-?!" Not expecting the retaliation to have arrived so quickly, Suiko wasn't ready for the hit and went flying a few meters.

"T-that was definitely the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist... I suppose I underestimated you myself, so I'll go ahead and-"

"attack you seriously! Void Revolving Tortoise Fist!" She jumped towards King, spinning multiple times before impacting King with an elbow and a kick.

And as it impacted- wait, it hit? He didn't even do anything!

"Huh, so that's an average attack." King said, looking at where she hit him. Both areas were smoking yet his clothes were perfectly fine for some reason. "I wanted to take a hit to see how strong your attacks were. It's not too bad."

"But nothing too special." King said, as he disappeared from Suiko's vision-

-to suddenly feel a hand on her shoulder. Turning to face him, Suiko's face was inches away from King's fist. "That counts as my win, yes?"

"Indeed, indeed! You're surpassed both my grandson and granddaughter!" Suicho said happily. "Also, that was the same move you used on Suiryu the first time round, yeah? The one where you enter the opponent's blind spot as they blink?"

"Yep." King said simply, putting down his fist. "I hope you have no doubts over this win?" King asked, looking at Suiko.

"...Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about it, but I will accept that I lost to you." Suiko said. "I'll be training with big bro if you need me, grandpa." Suiko then left to the courtyard. Out of the corner of his eye, King could see Suiryu punching a boulder in fury.

"Well then, I'll start with the basics..." Suicho said, preparing to teach King his martial art.

* * *

**[One week later...]**

"King, you've done it again." Suicho said, looking at King from the ground. To be honest, he had high expectations when King asked for a spar with him- and he didn't disappoint. Smoothly dodging his attacks and attacking back with a flowing smooth combo that he could say it was him using the Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist. But he knew better. Those moves were his moves, the moves that he taught him. He, the founder of the Void Fist, was defeated by King... using the Void Fist.

"Right, thanks for teaching me your martial art, Suicho." King said, extending an arm to help Suicho up.

"I'll be fine." Suicho waved King's arm away. "What I do want, is that when you're a master of your martial art... don't forget this old man, eh?"

"I won't." King said. "Anyway, I'll be going now."

"Escaping Suiryu and Suiko before they finish their training, eh?" Suicho laughed. "I get it. They've been pestering you for a rematch the whole time, and when you go home, they always spar with each other- and me, if they're not satisfied."

"..." King said nothing as he left the building. Suicho remained on the floor of his dojo, looking up at the ceiling. "I wonder if he'll create some new moves based on my own moves... that'll be a sight to see." Suicho smirked.

"Alright, we'll get our revenge today, King- wait, where'd he go?" Suiko popped out from the courtyard, followed by her brother, only to see that King was nowhere to be seen.

"Heh, he left already. There was no point in staying any longer- he beat me in my own style, after all."

"Wait, he beat you? There's no way, right? This is a prank you're pulling so we don't pester King, right? We just heard him arrive! There was no way he popped in for a short while and left!" Suiryu didn't believe his grandpa.

"Do you not see me on the floor? We had a match earlier, and I lost." Suicho said. "If you want to catch up to him, make sure you can beat me first." Suicho joked.

"Dammit! This isn't over, King!" Suiryu said angrily. "Grandpa, once you're done laying on the floor, we're challenging you!" Suiryu pointed at his grandpa.

"Yeah, yeah... wait, 'we'?"

"Me and Suiko were planning to take him down together, but if he's not here, then we'll fight you, instead!" Suiryu said.

"And we came up with a move to take him down at once, too!" Suiko complained. "How come he left before we get to show it off?!"

"Now, now, settle down you two..." Suicho tried to calm his grandkids down but to no avail. He knew today was going to be a hectic day; both of his grandkids were as stubborn as he was, so he was bound to be taking the hit for King today.

* * *

**{In King's Apartment...}**

"_Phew... _I'm finally back." King wiped the sweat off his brow. After two years of training in the time room, his future self had already appropriated the new Void Fist into a part of the King Style, and King Style: Apocalypse.

And due to the recent problems... he didn't get to play the new Doki-Doki Sisters editions at all! It was settled; nothing was getting between him and his beloved Doki-Doki Sisters until he finished the ones he got!

"Shimmering Dusk, Platinum Quilts, and Diamond Dust, I won't be leaving my apartment until I'm finished with all of you!" King said, holding the third, fourth and fifth parts of the Doki-Doki Sisters Trilogy.

Nothing was to get between him and Doki-Doki Sisters, not until he finished all three of them and got all the branched endings.

* * *

**[4 hours later...]**

"Quick, big brother [King]! Shoot the Heart-Heart Meteor with the Beam Laser! If it crashes into the Earth, all the robot sisters would be taken over by the Throb Virus!" The main heroine of the series, the protagonist's little sister (duh) called out to the protagonist to take action.

"No, dammit, [King]! We need to save Yukari! If we save her from the clutches of the Love Tentacles on the meteor, the meteor won't have any power to keep it stable, and it'll disintegrate before it even hits the atmosphere!" Another character that the protagonist saved in a quick-time event opposed that decision.

"That's not Yukari, that's Xevia, Princess of Hearts! If we blow her up, we can get rid of the problem once and for all! Even the Love Tentacles that are on Earth would immediately die! Why can't you understand that, Julie?!" The protagonist's sister said.

"It doesn't matter, Yukari is Yukari! Xevia's just her other identity! Didn't you hear when she said that she didn't want to be the Princess of Hearts?! We have to save her!"

Facing the bickering characters, King was in deep thought. _"Let's see... I collected the 'Heart-Throb Scepter' in the cathedral after the secret-reveal event in the attic from Yukari, but I'm not sure if that's all I need to finish the encounter. On the other hand, if I shoot the laser, Yukari will definitely die and Julie would probably leave me, but I can keep the robot sister legion..."_

"Well, I'll drop a save here first and deal with it later." King said, saving the game and turning off his console. He was about to finish Doki-Doki Sisters: Shimmering Dusk but it was three in the afternoon, and he skipped lunch to play Doki-Doki Sisters.

He was a bit famished, so he opened the fridge to find... nothing edible. The fridge was almost empty save for some juice-boxes he kept in the fridge to cool, and nothing more. The cupboard was just filled with instant ramen and a single container of green tea powder for the occasional visitor.

"Ah, right. I kind of miss my future self's cooking..." King said, remembering the dishes his future self prepared. 'Being functionally immortal meant that one can get whatever new skills whenever they wanted,' according to his future self. Brutal and unforgiving during the training, but damn it he was a good cook. The only thing he had now was...

Looking at the instant ramen on the counter, on any given day King would've settled for some instant ramen, but after eating his future self's cooking... the ramen was slightly lacking. In a pinch he would eat it, but now that he was free...

"Hmm, I saw an advert for that one cheap rotating sushi bar once..."

Maybe he could go out for some sushi today. After all, he stomached three straight weeks (and another six years) of straight training. He was deserving of a little reward.

* * *

**[30 minutes later, a random cheap sushi bar...}**

Well, it wasn't surprising. It literally said so in the name, but still...

Cheap sushi was cheap.

Still, cheap sushi was the place to go if he wanted to eat his fill. The sushi wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, either. It could fill his stomach, and that much was enough. Any other cafe had too many people, and he didn't want to risk people recognizing him. There was that one restaurant that he liked to go to for lunch and programming the game he was making on the side, but apparently there was a large squid monster that attacked the water supply tanks near the cafe, so they had to close down for some time while waiting for cleanup of the squid monster to finish.

"_Damn... maybe I should try and learn how to cook from my future self, next time." _King thought. If the sushi wasn't satisfying, he could try his hand at making some himself. But though he had S-Class pay, he knew better than to waste ingredients making sub-par sushi, and being a famous S-Class hero, just joining a random cooking lesson would be out of the question.

"_Maybe I'll buy some raw ingredients and then bring them in next time. The fridge in the time room was looking a little light..."_

Picking up the salmon sushi, King ate the two sushi on the plate and stacked them on one side. Huh, did he already go through eight plates? He didn't notice it at all.

_"Still, I don't feel very full even after eight plates... maybe I'll go somewhere else that doesn't seem very packed." _Picking up some corn mayo sushi, King made a mental note to go somewhere else after this. Strange, usually six or seven plates would be enough for him to feel full.

_"Right, this is the last one. I think I'll go someplace with more filling food. A steakhouse might be nice."_ Picking up the fatty tuna and promptly eating it, King had finished up ten plates worth of sushi, and was about to go someplace else for more filling food.

"Master, he's a civilian! You can't-" King heard a chair push back and someone standing up. Turning to look, King saw-

"Huh, didn't think we'd see each other so soon, Mr 'World's Strongest'." Atomic Samurai said, extending a handshake.

"Oh, I didn't think you'd be here, too." King returned the handshake. "Is there anything you need from me? If not, I'll be going." King said, moving to pay for the food.

"Well, actually..."

_"Shit. Why did I even say anything?"_

"I actually came here to see you, King. Before we came to visit, though, we were just going to stop here for lunch." Atomic Samurai said.

"Is that so? What did you want to see me for?"

"The thing is, I don't take well with losses, and I want to regain even a little bit of my honor." Atomic Samurai said, patting the sword hanging by his waist. "I slashed at you 167,532 times. None of them hit. Even some of Flashy Flash's attacks connected, and I don't sit too well with that."

"So if you don't mind, King, I want to propose a duel." Atomic Samurai said expectantly.

"...A duel, huh. Sure, I don't mind. Just let me pay for my sushi, first." King said, getting up and moving to the counter to pay for his sushi.

* * *

**[5 minutes later, an empty parking lot...}**

"Thank you for agreeing to this match, King. I know I seem like a sore loser, but I just really hate losing, y'know?"

_"That's the definition of a sore loser, though?" _King thought.

Atomic Samurai unsheathed his sword. "Now then, are you ready, King?"

"Actually, before that, let me get something." King walked towards Iaian. "Can I borrow your sword sheath?"

"Uh, sure. Why?" Iaian unsheathed his sword and handed King the sheath.

"Well, I can't control my punches very well, and using a sword seems a bit much, so I thought just the sheathe would be good." King swung the sheathe around. "It's made of relatively hard wood, and if I use too much force, it'd break, so it shouldn't hurt as much as some of my own punches."

"Okay, you can start now." King said, holding the sheathe in one hand, in a completely relaxed stance.

"...Were you someone else, I'd assume you were insulting me. But seeing as it's you, 'The Strongest Man On Earth', I suppose something like this would be the perfect way to even the playing field a little more." Atomic Samurai chuckled demeaningly. "Now... here I come!"

Atomic Samurai stepped forth, attacking with a vertical slash. King simply stepped out of the range of the swing, but Atomic Samurai wasn't done yet. A flurry of slashes were aimed at King, yet he dodged them all with relative ease.

"S-so he really can dodge Master Atomic's sword slashes." One of Atomic Samurai's disciples, Bushidrill said in awe. "And he doesn't seem to be struggling at all!"

Dodging the last slash in Atomic Samurai's combo, King used the sheathe to lightly hit Atomic Samurai's back. But King's definition of 'light' wasn't really very reliable, so it actually quite heavy. Though Atomic Samurai wasn't as tough as most other heroes, his durability was still nothing to scoff at. Still, King's 'light' hit managed to send a small jolt of pain through Atomic Samurai's back.

"Sss... You're definitely holding back, King. Were these one of your punches, I'd be wounded already. Still, that feels like a leather whip hitting me dead on the back." Atomic Samurai said. "But this is fine. If you won't be attacking as often, I'll take my time slashing away at you!"

Atomic Samurai slashed his sword with renewed vigor, each slash faster than the last. Still, it was pretty much nothing to King. Compared to when he had to fight off a dozen Dragon-level threats in the time room all at once, Atomic Samurai's attacks were actually pretty manageable. And comparing them to his future self's attacks was like comparing the speed of a kid swinging a stick around and the speed of sound.

King then took one blow on purpose, surprising Atomic Samurai. "Ah, I wanted to see how strong one slash was. Sorry about that."

The blow wasn't as powerful as the blows of the martial arts masters like Bang, Bomb and Suicho, but they were concentrated on the thin edge of Atomic Samurai's blade. If he had to compare the cutting capability, it would be like Bomb's Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist's attacks, though a fair bit sharper.

"A-A slash landed." The cross-dressing disciple said. "But it didn't seem to affect King at all!"

"T-that can't be! That was one of Master Atomic's full-powered slashes! Is King tougher than Superalloy Darkshine?!" Iaian said in disbelief.

"Heh, to think even if one of my attacks landed, they would do nothing. You really do deserve your reputation. Aside from you, only Superalloy Darkshine can possibly shrug off my attacks easily. Though even then I should be able to at least leave a scratch. You seem perfectly unfazed, though."

"Well, I train my body often." King said. "Now then, do you want to continue? I don't really mind."

"There's no point in continuing this farce. Even if I hit you, it wouldn't affect you. And if you fully aim on dodging, I won't be able to hit you once." Atomic Samurai said. "I think only Flashy Flash would be fast enough to even land a blow on you."

"Well, not really. If Tatsumaki were there, she might be able to slow me down enough for a hit in." King thought.

"Actually, no. That reminded me that you were under Tatsumaki's powers the whole time we were fighting. If you activated that special power of yours again, even he might not be able to land a single hit. Though at that time you'd probably kill us first." Atomic Samurai said, a self-mocking smile on his face. "Also, you weren't even fighting me with that special power of yours activated, and I still can't land a hit on you."

"The whole time? I thought you said that she was just supporting you at the time." King asked.

"Well, we said 'support' us, and by 'support', we meant that she used as much power as she could without destroying the entire building. According to her, she used five-hundred times psychic gravity on you the whole time, restrained you with psychic powers, and even using her powers to raise stone walls to block you in order to buy time for us."

"Ah, I see..." King said. _"Better not use that 'Crown of Rage' anytime soon. Not even those Dragon-level threats ever needed me to use them." _Though thinking back, he never did use any of his 'crowns' during training. He never really felt the need to, and using them would also defeat the point of training.

"Well then, King. Before you go, I'd like to ask one more thing from you." Atomic Samurai said, holding up an apple. "This is an apple. I bought it from the store we were at."

"Try cutting this apple for me."

"I'm not very well versed in using a sword, though." King said. "Well, that is, single-edged swords. I prefer double-edged ones."

"Ah, so you know how to use a sword?" Atomic Samurai asked, surprised.

"Well, I rarely use one, and most of the time my fists are enough, so I never really use them, no." King said. "But back when I was weaker, the swords I used were mostly double-edged, so any of the techniques I came up with were for double-edged swords." King said, reminiscing over when he was fighting against Demon-level threats, he was sometimes offered a weapon to use, whether it was a sword, gun, bow, etc, etc. Ordinary guns were pretty much useless to anything above threat level Tiger or Demon, so that one was immediately out.

Usually he'd just pick a sword since it would mostly depend on his physical strength, and though he had plenty of choices, the double-edged swords were better in his opinion. What was the point of having one blunt edge, anyway? And though it was true that katanas were usually stronger and had a better cutting edge, he just preferred the double-edged swords as they could be used both ways. Longsword, broadsword, whatever. If it could cut, it would work.

Though after a while, punches and kicks were more convenient. They couldn't be disarmed like normal weapons, and the only way that would happen is if something cut off his arms and legs. And good luck doing that; whatever was in that liquid he drank every day, it toughened his body to extremity. Come to think of it, after the first few months of training, he couldn't remember when he last bled.

"Anyway, why do you want me to cut that apple?"

"You see, I have an unusual skill..." Atomic Samurai started his explanation.

"It's like palm reading. When I see how someone cuts things, I learn how that person has lived their life."

"I accepted those three back there as my disciples using that method. I'm interested how a man like you will cut that apple."

"Please, cut the apple for me. That is all I ask." Atomic Samurai said, handing King a wakizashi from his waist.

"Just a question before I do that: Does it only work with a sword? Like; as long as I cut it, will that skill of yours work?" King asked.

"I'm... not very sure. I've only ever used the method with someone cutting something with a sword.'' Atomic Samurai remarked, unsure.

"Hmm, okay then."

Unsheathing the sword, King sliced the apple cleanly in two.

"...I see, I wasn't expecting that." Atomic Samurai said, a hand on his chin.

"Why? What did you see?" King asked, handing the wakizashi back to Atomic Samurai.

"Well, my skill isn't omnipotent, but I can discern a great many things from it." Atomic Samurai said. "For example, I can tell that you weren't always strong."

"You used to be a normal person, weak and cowardly; though I mean nothing from that." Atomic Samurai raised his hands in mock surrender.

"I don't mind. I was quite the coward back then, too..." King said, not minding. Honestly, thinking back, he really was a massive coward... but that was normal! After all, with so many close brushes with death, he was surprised he managed to survive until he got that 'King Engine' of his in the future. "As they say, the brave die once, and the cowardly die many times before their death." King mocked himself.

"But still, only recently did you awaken a hidden strength, something that allowed you become stronger, to fight monsters and be a hero..." Atomic Samurai continued. "...And you still aim to become much stronger. That's impressive, King. Even at your level, you still want to become stronger?"

"Well, there's still a long road ahead of me. Just because I got stronger doesn't mean I need to stop because of that." King said. "Also, it pays to be prepared. If there happens to be a stronger monster that I can't handle at my current strength in the future, I'll be glad I continued training when I encounter it." King said, ripping off his future self.

"You're quite the impressive fellow, aren't you, King?" Atomic Samurai chuckled. "But also, while reading your past, I also learnt something."

"You have a secret. A dark secret that you don't want anyone to find out about no matter what."

"A dark secret, huh. Everyone has their secrets, I'm sure you do too." King said. Though he was slightly nervous. If he found out that he had a card that allowed him to cheat time and a future self that was 146 years old... explaining that would be a complete pain.

"Well, I can't tell what is actually is. As I said, it's not omnipotent." Atomic Samurai said.

"_Phew, he doesn't know about it. I mean, if he could tell what it was, then I would be in trouble-"_

"Though the only thing I can get about that secret is that it relates to... a little sister?"

_...Rumble! Rumble! _Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! **RUMBLE! RUMBLE!**

The 'King Engine' was roaring. King's face changed from a friendly one to a ruthless facade, and the only thing separating him from his 'Crown of Rage' state was that his eyes were still a deep blue.

"Whoa, whoa, King. Relax, I won't pry. Your secrets are your secrets." Atomic Samurai said nervously. Though they were both heroes, he knew that if King activated his special power, he wouldn't be able to control himself from killing everyone in the vicinity. On the other hand...

He felt that King wouldn't need that to kill him and his disciples, anyway.

The 'King Engine' subsided as King slowly calmed down. "Sorry about that, Atomic Samurai. My emotions got out of hand."

_"...That was close! If it was any more descriptive, the fact that I play dating simulator games would be out of the bag! Why the hell did I even agree to cut the damn apple?! Did I want him to know all of my secrets?!" _King mentally scolded himself for even entertaining him. He'd risk making an enemy of all the S-Classes _before_ he'd let anyone know that he played dating simulators. If it was before, when he was just some antisocial loser otaku, then sure, so what if some people found out? He was just an ordinary antisocial loser otaku that didn't have friends; someone would probably forget about it soon enough.

Though now as an S-Class Hero... he was essentially known world-wide! Letting the fact that he played dating simulator games loose would be like committing social suicide- no, it WAS committing social suicide! It's true that he goes out shopping on incognito most of the time, anyway, but if his cover was blown, he'd rather be known as 'The Strongest Man On Earth', rather than 'The S-Class Hero That Loves Dating Simulators'!

It was a good thing Atomic Samurai didn't actually know anything else about his gaming 'preferences'. If he did find out...

King would have to decide between killing an S-Class Hero and three of his innocent disciples, and keeping his secret. And he was afraid that wouldn't be a very hard choice. Murder was deceptively easy to get over when one was dead-set on doing it.

"...I'll be going now." King said, before calmly walking away, 'bloodlust' still quaking beneath his figure.

"There he goes. I wonder what secret he had, to emit such bloodlust..." Okamaitachi wondered aloud.

"Stop that train of thought. It's rude to poke into other people's business, especially their secrets." Atomic Samurai reprimanded. "Also... it seems like King wouldn't hesitate to commit murder to ensure that secret remains a secret."

"B-but he's a hero! Would he really break the rules and kill a fellow hero?!" Bushidrill said.

"When he gets serious, he can't tell friend from foe. He's also perfectly willing to kill in that state." Atomic Samurai said solemnly. "If he wanted us dead... we wouldn't be talking right now."

_"King... what a dreadful man." _Atomic Samurai said, looking at the direction King left in.

* * *

**[15 minutes later, outside King's Apartment...}**

"I need to calm down. There's no way Atomic Samurai can infer that I play dating simulators based on the words 'little sister'." King tried to calm himself down. Entering his apartment, King turned on his TV to continue playing his save file.

"Now then, which should I choose... I'll try saving Yukari first, then I'll see what happens when I shoot the meteor instead after I finish that route." King selected the 'save Yukari/Xevia' option.

"Hah! I knew I could trust you, [King]! See, even your older brother agrees! We need to save Yukari!" Julie, the character the protagonist saved said.

"B-but big brother! What about the robot sister army? They'll get taken over by the Throb Virus!" The protagonist's younger sister didn't agree.

"Hmm, which dialogue option would make her less angry..." King said to himself, pondering his choices.

As he thought of the best dialogue option to choose, King suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Hmm? Who's that?" Dropping down an extra save, King turned off the console, hid the games where no one could ever find them (in the game closet) and then prepared to open the door.

"Who is it?" King asked.

"It's me. Open up, King." From the other side of the door, King could hear Flashy Flash's voice. What was he doing here?

Opening the door, Flashy Flash stood in the corridor, arms crossed. "I've been thinking, King. I heard that recently you've been learning martial arts from Silver Fang?"

"Yeah, I was. I finished up a few weeks ago."

"I know. I heard how you mastered Silver Fang's martial art, and then his brother's, and then another martial art, all in just three weeks." Flashy Flash said.

"That's impressive, you have immense physical ability and combat instincts, yet you strive for more battle capabilities. That's a good mindset, you'll make a great hero." Flashy Flash praised.

"Ah, thank you. And you're here because...?" King got straight to the point, though he had a sinking feeling he knew why he was here.

"Straight to the point, that's good. I want to have a little rematch. I don't doubt your capabilities, though I'd like to have another go." Flashy Flash said.

"I expected that." King sighed. "Atomic Samurai just challenged me to a duel earlier."

"Atomic Samurai did? I suppose his stubbornness is expected. Do not get me wrong, King. I say that you were fully deserving of that win. I just want to have another attempt at fighting you, without that special ability of yours." Flashy Flash said.

"Hmm, okay then. Where do you want to fight?" King asked.

"Follow me."

* * *

**[45 minutes later, in the middle of a forest...}**

"This is where we'll be fighting." Flashy Flash said, leading King to an open empty clearing within the dense forest.

"Okay then. Huh, the leaves are starting to brown already..." King noted. It was getting colder nowadays. Was it time for autumn already?

"Anyway, I'm ready when you are-"

Catching a kunai that was aiming straight for his face, King noted that Flashy Flash was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, I forgot you're an assassin. That's fine with me." King said, realizing that he had just blindly followed an assassin straight into an open area, and was distracted by the trees of all things, letting him just get out of sight. "I wanted to try training for sneak attacks before, but most monsters don't really try to use an ambush or sneak attacks or whatever."

"I suppose now would be a good time." Smoothly catching the flow of shuriken that were aimed for him, King caught all of them- and didn't miss the one going for his blind spot.

Throwing the kunai he caught directly behind him, it deflected another kunai that exploded upon impact.

"Those are some fancy tools. I wouldn't want to get hit by one of those." King said. _"I'm wearing my favorite shirt underneath this jacket, I'd rather not get it blown up."_

Dodging another hail of shuriken, King deduced Flashy Flash's location. Directly above a branch, King could see a black silhouette behind the leaves. Jumping towards the silhouette, King got ready to land a light blow on Flashy Flash-

-though the only thing on that branch was a decoy. It exploded and pelted King with tiny needles- that were easily caught by King. "These needles seem to be coated in something... poison maybe?" King calmly thought.

Swiping away the next barrage of shuriken, kunai and other weapons, King simply watched where the weapons were coming from and dodged every one of them. Finally, after 30 seconds-

"Found you." King jumped towards a tree and kicked it down. From the falling leaves King could finally see the silhouette of Flashy Flash- the real one.

"Tsk."

"Hey, Flash. Wanna get to the close combat part of my assassination?" King asked, almost bored. Then again, dodging attacks from his blind spot was easier than expected. After all- they were slow as hell compared to him. Catching them was a simple affair of plucking them out of the air.

"Hmph. Fine, then." Flashy Flash said, unsheathing his sword.

King simply stood still. "I'm ready when you are."

...

...

...

Panting heavily, Flashy Flash knelt on the ground, King stood calmly in the only spot that wasn't utterly destroyed.

"I can't believe it. The last time you defeated me together with Atomic Samurai, Silver Fang and Tatsumaki, you were on the offensive the whole time, so there was no time for any forbidden techniques, and I had to go on the defensive... and run away." Flashy Flash said. "I thought to myself that if I had been able to use all my attacks, all my ninja skills, all my forbidden techniques, the fight would probably have gone differently."

"...But you've proven me wrong. You never even attacked me the whole time, and yet, none of my attacks even reached you. All my forbidden techniques, my ace cards, all my secret weapons..."

Flashy Flash looked at a shattered kunai on the ground. "Nothing mattered to you. You just weaved my attacks away as easily as you were pushing aside a child's hand. I can no longer look at this any other way."

Though defeated and on the ground, Flashy Flash smiled. "You won, King. You have completely and utterly won."

"Yeah, you were pretty good, yourself." King said, extending an arm towards Flashy Flash. "Those attacks were faster than Atomic Samurai's attacks, and even then your hand-to-hand combat skills were pretty good in and of itself."

Taking King's hand, Flashy Flash's face became a serious one. "And that brings me to another point I wanted to bring up."

_"Aw shit. Here we go again."_

"Your competence is without question, King. But you can be so much more. Learn under me, and become my disciple, King!"

* * *

**So, yeah, this the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it**

**Again, This chapter would not have been possible if it had not been for my editor, so again I say it, thanks for doing me this great favor**

**I always find it funny how the inspiration I should have to make these chapters is wasted in making other stories**

**But hey, take care and see you next time**

**Bye**


	5. Chapter 5 End of prologue (Part one)

**the chapter was going to be longer but due to certain circumstances it was shortened, so this could be said to be a Christmas present, enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**[One week later...]**

"...Honestly, King. Can you even surprise people any more after this?" Flashy Flash sighed. Though he had heard of his inhuman talent before... to have all the Ninja Village's secret techniques and combat arts immediately absorbed within a week... could he really be described by anything else other than 'monster'?

In the beginning, he was already learning the Village's arts at an astonishing pace. Faster than he did, even. Perhaps it could be attributed to him being a good teacher, but even then, he was learning... too fast. Then during the weekends, King surprisingly asked for all of the Village's arts at once. After giving him all of the scrolls, including all of the forbidden techniques and secret arts, King went back for 'personal training'. Having heard of this 'personal training' from Bang, Flashy Flash wanted to tail him, to see what he did during his 'personal training'.

King probably noticed, as barely a few hundred meters since he started tailing him, King increased his speed to ludicrous levels, making even he, Flashy Flash, the fastest S-Class hero, lose him. Having no other leads, Flashy Flash went to King's apartment but found nothing. For those two days, it was as if King himself didn't exist. However, immediately after, the day after the weekend, he came out of nowhere, proceeded to demonstrate every single one of the ninja arts he taught, including the ones on the scrolls, POINT OUT SOME FLAWS, and even corrected them. Flaws, in the ninja arts he so believed to have been perfect. After all, he was the one that corrected the flaws he found on his own.

"Well, I'd thank you anyway. It's a definite increase to my arsenal, that's for sure." King said. And it was true, too. The moment he went into the time room with those scrolls and showed them to his future self, the future King took them all for 'study', returned them in four months after he gave them to him... and then master it like nobody's business. He even managed to condense, simplify, and improve on all of the ninja arts, and taught him all he needed to know in three week's time.

If that wasn't all, his future self managed to invent an ENTIRE school of ninjutsu within the remaining time, being King Style Ninjutsu, and he even managed to weave it into King Style: Apocalypse. Yep, he managed to seamlessly weave all four schools, Water-Stream Rock Smashing Fist, Whirlwind Iron-Cutting Fist, Void Fist, and Flashy Flash's ninja arts... all into the 'Apocalypse' branch of his martial arts. If it wasn't for the knowledge that God-level threats would still pick him up and wring him like a wet towel if he tried fighting one without his martial arts, he'd say that his future self's efforts were a little overkill.

"Anyway, here are your scrolls back," King said, giving the scrolls Flashy Flash borrowed him back to their original owner. "I studied them a bit while I was training, and I even have a new style thought up."

"Oh, a new style? Care to demonstrate?" Flashy Flash asked, intrigued.

"Alright." King said, before suddenly...

A golden katana materialized in his hands.

"What in the-" Flashy Flash stepped back in surprise. Since when did ninja arts allow _that? _Was it some sort of illusion thing he didn't know about?

"It's a power of mine. I can create something, like an image brought into reality directly from my mind. It takes practice, but I can essentially create anything, so long as I understand how it works, and have a strong image of it in my mind." King explained quickly. "You know that power I used when I 'fought' Silver Fang, Atomic Samurai, and you, the Crown Of Rage? This power stems from the same source. I call it the Crown Of Creation."

"Anyway, that's not the ninjutsu I wanted to show you," King said, grabbing the katana with one hand. "I'll demonstrate on that boulder."

Pointing at a conveniently placed boulder, King prepared to show Flashy Flash one of the ninja arts that he- well, his future self created.

King held the katana so loosely that Flashy Flash would almost reprimand him for that, as having a weapon gripped so loosely was a surefire way to get it disarmed. However, knowing that King was about to demonstrate his new ninja art, Flashy Flash stayed silent.

...

...

...

**_schwing_**

King's whole body blurred, almost as if it phased out of reality. A second later, King returned to his original position, as if nothing ever happened.

"Done. What do you think?" King then suddenly turned around, the katana disappearing from his hands.

"...King." Flashy Flash turned to look at King.

A stray leaf then landed on the boulder, and-

**crack**

-the boulder split cleanly into two, then into four, then eight, sixteen, thirty-two...

"I know I've said this before, but..."

After the twentieth division, the boulder exploded, revealing a '**王****'** character carved deeply into the base of the now smooth stone.

"...You're a genius."

"Oh, thanks."

Though looking closely, it was more of a sword technique than a ninjutsu technique, but one thing was certain.

King... was an overwhelmingly strong hero, and he just gave the dragon some new fangs.

**[Three days later, King's Apartment...]**

"...S-so soft..." The main heroine, the protagonist's little sister said, feeling the fur of the large white bear.

"Isn't it? It's one of the last ones in the world. Almost hunted to extinction by poachers for Platinum Quilts, there are only three families left in the whole universe." A dark-skinned woman with white tribal tattoos said, caressing the bear's paws.

"Ah, so that's where the namesake of the game comes from. I was wondering when this 'platinum quilt' was about to show up." King said to himself. In the previous games, the namesake of the games would always be obvious from the start. Pink Skies was due to the fallout of the Tsar Lova bomb that blew up barely five minutes into the game. To be honest? He didn't expect combat to be involved in a romance game, but hey, it was interesting and challenging, at least.

Shimmering Dusk was due to the once-every-hundred-years phenomenon of well, Shimmering Dusk. Which ended up as just the love-particles that were sent down by the Heart Tentacles for a few millennia before they harvested Earth for the production of heart crystals.

"So they fetch a fortune, eh?" Julie, the character from one game ago smiled, licking her lips.

"Julie!" Yukari, also known as Xevia, the Princess Of Hearts from the last game poked Julie's sides.

"Alright, alright. Just kidding~"

"Hmm... what's that?" King saw something out of the corner of his eye. Moving his character towards it, it elicited a reaction from the other characters.

"Where are you going, big brother?"

As King's character moved towards the strange object, the character picked up a small black box.

"What's that, big brother [King]?" The main heroine asked.

"No clue. I just found it earlier." The main character responded on his own without King's input.

"T-That's a Xanthian Listener Box! How did one get here?!" The woman with the tribal tattoos remarked in surprise and fear.

"Xanthians? Who're those?" The main character's little sister asked.

"They're the main poachers of the Niveium Bears. The fact that there's one right here... there are already some Xanthians on the planet! We need to notify the Council immediately-

"Too late, girlie." A gruff voice sounded from behind the girl with tribal tattoos, as she was suddenly gripped by the neck. A white-blue humanoid alien decloaked itself, lifting the girl with the tribal tattoos with just one hand. "No need to hide anymore, boys. There aren't any more guards in the perimeter."

A dozen more of these 'Xanthians' decloaked, surrounding the main character and the cast.

"W-we're surrounded!" Yukari said. "T-the robot sisters are too far away to help us in time, and the Love Tentacles can't reach us here due to the planet's special Bellus Waves!

"Tsk, with these odds, I don't think we can get outta this..." Julie said, holding up her two laser pistols.

"W-what do we do, big brother?" As the little sister asked the main character, King was presented with some options.

"Hmm... I'm gonna take a break for now. Let me drop a save first..." Saving his progress, King turned off the game and took out the disc, keeping it in its box. "Maybe I'll try surrendering. Who knows, I might find another character to save, like Julie on the Heart-Heart Meteor."

Suddenly, King's phone rang.

"Hm? Does the Heroes Association need anything?" King said to himself. He had basically no contacts other than them at the moment, so it couldn't really be anyone else, aside from other S-Class heroes.

"Excuse me, Mr. King! There's a Dragon-level threat in City P and Tornado Of Terror's facing it in combat right now!"

"Huh? Why call me, then? Tatsumaki's there, isn't she?" King questioned. Wasn't Tatsumaki enough?

"Actually, as it turns out, the mysterious being happens to be extremely resistant to psychic powers, and she's having some trouble. You're the nearest S-Class hero to her location, we hope you can aid her in fighting the monster!"

"Hmm, okay then. I may as well. Where exactly is she again?"

"Near the City P Tower. Please hurry!"

"Understood." Hanging up, King got up and stretched his body.

"Okay, City P is about... three hundred kilometers away, so I should be able to make it in about two minutes if I run normally, maybe just 30 seconds if I use that movement technique my future self created."

"..."

"Eh, she can handle herself. I'm gonna get something to eat, first." King shrugged. Though the operator did say that she was 'having some trouble', it couldn't have been too much trouble, right?

**[City P...]**

"Just... DIE ALREADY!" Tatsumaki used as much ESP as she could that wouldn't destroy the city. The mysterious being she was fighting this time was a major pain. Not only was it completely resistant against ESP, but it also had some ESP of its own, so Tatsumaki's tactic of throwing things at it until it was defeated wasn't working very well.

Unlike when she tried to hold King down; the keyword being 'tried', which was like trying to pin down a boulder. It was damn near impossible, and it had basically no effect on him. Well, it was as much ESP as she could use without destroying the building they were in. She COULD have used more ESP, but it would 1) destroy the entire Heroes Association Headquarters, and 2) mangle King for life. Though she wasn't so sure about the last one. As time passed while King was in his rage state, it was as if her ESP didn't even phase him. Like trying to dam a river with cardboard, it was just not possible.

Anyway, holding King down with ESP was like trying to stop a stampeding bull. It was hard, almost impossible, but it was doable in the sense she could at least affect him. This stupid _thing_, however...

**" #$%#$# %(&!"**

"Argh, quit it with that stupid noise! Shut up!" Tatsumaki closed her ears to protect her eardrums from exploding, as she responded by hurling another building right at the mysterious being- if it could even be called a mysterious being.

It was eight giant metallic plates floating around a transparent irregularly-shaped crystal that had a navy-blue colored sphere in the middle of the crystal. It was also massive- the crystal in the middle was the size of a small building, and when the eight plates combined with each other to form a rhombohedron, it was about the size of an apartment complex.

If King was like a boulder, then this thing was like water. She could physically grab King with her ESP, but it was almost impossible to hold him down, like trying to tie down a speeding trailer with some flimsy duck tape. In this case, it was like trying to grab hold of water. No matter how much force she exerted, it just... slipped out of her grasp. The only thing that would probably work against it was by using physical force. When she hurled objects at the crystal, the plates would come together in a rhombohedron, protecting the crystal in the middle.

That was probably the weak point, but getting there was now the problem. Everything she threw at it immediately disintegrated upon impact with those plates. Whatever they were, she did _not _want to touch them. She wasn't taking any chances. If the crystal in the middle was like water, then the protective plating was like a bottomless sponge. It just absorbed her ESP, leaving her with a splitting headache. Anything that came into contact with it immediately disintegrated. A building, some rocks, any bit of debris she could get her hands on, hell, her psychic power? Gone the instant they made contact with those plates. She tried overfilling it, but after emptying nearly a third of her total reserves with almost no visible effect, she opted to just avoid them.

Speaking of King, she last heard from those people at the Heroes Association that King was making his way here to assist her. Good. Though she'd always depend on herself...

**" $%& &* #%*$!"**

"This is a horrible match-up for me. I'd really appreciate King's assistance right about now." Tatsumaki said to herself, staring down the massive crystal in the middle of whatever that thing was.

**[Somewhere in City M, in a restaurant...]**

"Two of the 500g steaks, some fries, and a beer, please." King leisurely ordered food at a nearby restaurant. He overheard that this restaurant had some pretty good steak while walking around, so he decided to take a look.

"Alright. Please wait a while, we'll be back with your food shortly..." The waitress jotted down King's order as she left for the kitchen.

Needless to say, King was currently incognito, wearing a sweater, a cap, and some sunglasses. Despite only having his S-Class status barely a few months ago, he was the most well known S-Class hero aside from Blast. After all, he managed to defeat four S-Class heroes on his own, even with Tatsumaki aiding them. After that, rumors about his strength started to spread. Ridiculous things like going back in time to destroy all the meteors headed towards Earth to ensure humanity survived, throwing a bomb that could destroy the solar system into a black hole, and writing a secret message in every historical monument about his coming.

If it was his future self? Yeah, he could probably do that. Right now... he could use more training.

"Here are your two 500g steaks, fries, and beer." The waitress returned barely a minute after he gave his order to her. Did they just have steaks made in advance or something? Oh well. At least it arrived quickly.

**[City P...]**

**"*$%#%& #%&$ #$!"**

"Lalalalala~ I can't hear you!" Tatsumaki covered her head in a psychic barrier as she refocused her efforts on defeating this thing. With that horrendous sound out of her mind? She could focus a little more on the fight. Also, she managed to disable the weird nullification plates by covering them in a barrier. So long as the barriers didn't actually make contact with the plating, they were disabled for the moment. Though getting hit by her own barriers didn't hurt any less, though. At least she didn't need to worry about not existing the moment she got grazed by one.

"Grr... where the hell is King?!"

**[City M, the restaurant...]**

"That comes to a total of 9,600 yen."

"Huh, not as costly as I thought." Forking out a ten-thousand yen note to the cashier, King looked at the takeout menu.

"Hmm... Tatsumaki's probably done with the monster already, I may as well get her something. I wonder if she has a sweet-tooth?"

**[City P...]**

"_Huff... puff..." _Breathing rapidly, Tatsumaki finally landed on the ground, looking at the remains of the being- and the city around it. The moment she focused her attacks on the crystal in the middle, the being's attacks grew more frantic. It even managed to free its nullification plates by slamming them into each other, forcing the barriers she created to come into contact with the plates. After she used almost all of her remaining energy to condense nearby debris into hundreds of needles and launched them into the crystal before the plates could block it, the crystal in the middle shattered upon impact, and whatever was powering those nullification plates disappeared along with it, as they crashed into the ground harmlessly.

"Well, it was more difficult than I thought. I was right in the end, though. I shouldn't have counted on anyone else to help me after all." Tatsumaki sighed heavily, wiping her forehead. When was the last time she actually sweated this much? Even that time she tried physical exercise without psychic powers wasn't as tiring as this. "Hmph, to think I expected King to help me out! I still had to depend on myself in the end."

However, to her dismay, the plates somehow powered up again, as the navy-blue sphere in the middle of the crystal leaked out from the crystal as a dense fluid.

"Tsk. I'll have to do that all over again, won't I?" Tatsumaki groaned. Even after all that, it wasn't over yet? Her once-massive reserves were almost empty by now!

"# #$%*&(%^& #$%..." The strange noise sounded out once more from the navy-blue sphere, but it was softer than before. At least, it didn't rattle her head when she heard it.

" #$%! #$aihjgfdsikjnvgdrfes-" Somehow, the longer the sound went on, she could actually hear strings of letters starting to form, but it still sounded like gibberish.

"Asdrfgnjvsrrnbnvfes- Ah. I can speak your language, now."

"What the hell? It just spoke... and wait, that sounds like..." Tatsumaki's eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

The liquid that poured out of the crystal then started to congeal into...

Her. It looked exactly like her, with the exception that while she was panting for her breath and bleeding from some places, she was clean from top to bottom as if she wasn't fighting at all. Also...

SHE WAS NAKED!

"I should thank you for freeing me. The sealing crystal's directives tried its best to contain me, but as suspected, it weakened after several million years without repair." The copy of Tatsumaki then inspected its new body. "Looks like your attacks were the last straw. I'm finally free now-"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tatsumaki said, blushing heavily. Though she was certain that all the civilians in the city have evacuated, seeing her form naked right in front of her... If someone else saw it, she wouldn't be able to live it down!

"...Excuse me?" The copy of Tatsumaki tilted her head, confused at what she was getting at.

"Put on some clothes already! I don't care if you want to be naked while you were in that blue gooey form, but right now, cover yourself up already!"

"Is it a custom of your race to cover your bodies?" The copy further tilted her head. "I swear, primitive physical races have strange customs. Those flimsy pieces of cloth don't even have any form of protection. Wearing them is basically pointless. No matter." The copy's eyes suddenly glowed blue, before the clothes that Tatsumaki wore were fabricated right onto the copy. The difference being, hers was ripped in multiple places, whereas the copy was wearing undamaged clothes.

Tatsumaki breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her naked form was no longer bare for the world to see. Still, there was still a problem right now...

"You know, despite my long existence in this world, being trapped in that sealing crystal was horrible. I should thank you for that... mother."

"What?! Who're you calling your mother?!" Tatsumaki said, attempting to form a barrier, but she had expended herself too much. She barely had enough ESP to float, let alone continue attacking.

"Ah, I don't really have a word for it. Your language is... limiting, to say the least. 'The one I mimic' is a more apt description." The copy said, floating towards her. "I can't find a proper word for it, so I just chose the most suitable word in your language. That is right... I presume? Do your species' offspring still bear resemblance to their parents or did evolution finally do away with that pointless trait?"

"What're you planning to do? Stay back!" Tatsumaki attempted to get away, to recuperate for a while before engaging the mysterious being again, but something seemed to be restraining her. It was like being she was being restrained by...

"This... ESP, you call it? It's a convenient power." Looking at her limbs, she was being restricted by ESP. The difference was that her ESP was completely green in color, but the one she was restricted by had a faint blue outline on the green glow.

Being restrained like this, her ESP useless... for the longest time since then, a feeling she repressed for years started to emerge.

_Fear._

"Hmm? I think you're misunderstanding what I'm about to do." The copy seemed to notice Tatsumaki's fear. "You saved me from that horrible prison. I'm thanking you for it."

The eight massive plates floating in the air started to shrink and change shape until they took the shape of mechanical arms, each of them floating around Tatsumaki's copy. Two of them grabbed Tatsumaki by her head, another by her waist, four for her limbs, as the last arm turned into a needle, moving closer to her forehead.

"No, what're you doing?! Stop it!" Throwing all semblance of pride away, Tatsumaki started to plead, her eyes watering. Despite her massive reserves of ESP just thirty minutes before she fought this strange being...

"Don't worry. You'll be in good hands. Even after your physical body expires... I'll take good care of you. I promise."

She didn't want to die.

She didn't want to die.

She didn't want to die.

She didn't want to die.

SHE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE!

"_S-somebody..."_

_"Help me!" _Utterly broken and defeated, she went against a philosophy that she adopted when she met Blast. Despite his advice to never expect for someone to save her eventually, at this moment where she could do nothing... someone, anyone! Save her!

"Err... what's going on here?"

Both Tatsumaki and her copy turned to look at the source of the voice.

"Uh... I'd assume the real Tatsumaki would on the winning side, but I've never seen those weird mechanical arms before, so..." Holding a drink in one hand and a plastic bag in another while so casually dressed, Tatsumaki would never think that this was the same person as the one that so easily defeated Atomic Samurai, Silver Fang, and Flashy Flash, all the while she aided them.

"Just to be clear, which one of you's the real Tatsumaki?" King asked, taking a sip from the soda he held in one hand, seemingly unconcerned by the situation in front of him.

"Who... are you?" The copy of Tatsumaki tilted her head, not recognizing King. At first glance, he seemed to be the same species as the one that saved her, and nothing else seemed out of the ordinary from him. However, something told her that he was... different, somehow.

"Well, I know which one's the real one, now," King said, looking at Tatsumaki's copy. "Damn, if it weren't for the eight mechanical arms floating around you, I wouldn't have been able to tell you apart at all, really."

"Anyway, would you mind letting her go?" An unfamiliar, rumbling sound started to emanate from the newcomer, as Tatsumaki's copy became wary.

_"Something's... off, about this particular being."_

As time passed, though his physical form didn't change... his presence was growing ever larger by the second.

"If you let her go... I'll let you live."

Instinctively releasing Tatsumaki and jumping back to assume a defensive position in the air, a bead of sweat started to form on the copy's forehead.

_"This feeling... even when I was captured eons ago and enslaved for tens of millions of years... even when I was on the blink of destruction... I've never felt this before!" _In the exceedingly long life of this being, for the first time...

It was afraid.

_"_Phew_... I thought it was gonna use Tatsumaki as a hostage. I would've had some trouble, then." _King thought. "Well then. On the account that you let her go, I'll spare your life. You'll still have to come with me, though."

Tatsumaki's copy didn't respond, only flying further into the air.

"Well, this is troublesome..." King sighed, before turning to look at Tatsumaki, who still seemed a little shellshocked. "Sorry I was late. Could you hold this for me?"

Barely registering King's words, Tatsumaki only mindlessly held King's soda and the plastic bag in his other hand.

"Not using ESP, huh... you must've been drained. Oh well, I'm here now." King then stretched his back, his neck, and finally, cracking his knuckles.

"Anyway... I'll deal with you now." King then crouched... and jumped directly towards the copy.

"Ah, wait! King! Avoid those mechanical arms! If activated, it can disintegrate anything it comes into contact with!" Tatsumaki just returned to her senses as she realized that King was also in danger. Though she could avoid those arms by covering them in a barrier, and she was held by those arms less than a minute ago, when activated, he might end up losing a limb!

As she feared, the copy's mechanical arms glowed blue, signifying their activation. King paid no heed and punched forward, and the mechanical arms moved to block the punch-

-which didn't seem to affect King's arm at all when it made contact with the metallic arms.

"Wait, what?" Tatsumaki stared dumbly at what she saw. The metallic arms made of the plates that gave her such a hard time... were so easily ignored by King?

"That's impossible! All physical matter should be broken down to their base components and absorbed upon contact!" The copy exclaimed. "_U-unless... each blow contained enough energy to overwhelm to absorption limit?!"_

_"_Oh, these arms could do that?" King said, grabbing two of the eight arms. "Interesting. I'm definitely keeping you alive. _He'll _definitely be interested in these." Kneeing the copy of Tatsumaki, it blocked by using all six of its remaining mechanical arms to curb the blow.

"S-such power! The absorption limit's already been hit on four of the six arms!" 'Tatsumaki' said, a hint of fear showing on her face.

"Oh, so you even feel fear, huh... you're definitely not a robot or something, that's for sure." King then took hold of the two mechanical arms he grasped, before exerting enough force to rip the mechanical arms out of their sockets.

"_H-he forcefully disconnected them from me! This creature's dangerous!" _Quickly using an ESP blast, 'Tatsumaki' fled, attempting to escape this illogical being. Not even the strongest physical form she had ever faced before this could possibly do something like that!

"Running? Hmm. I suppose that's a smart thing to do." But all of a sudden, the illogical being appeared in front of her again, and before she could raise the six mechanical arms behind her, she felt a strong force impact her directly on her abdomen. In most cases, she would simply take the hit, then it would merely disperse the energy to the surroundings.

However, right now...

"_There's too much energy to disperse!" _Due to completely replicating Tatsumaki's body down to every last cell, she couldn't disperse the energy as well as she would originally be able to. And even so, she wasn't sure that her original, formless self could even disperse all that energy. Just how strong was this being?!

King prepared another punch, but he then felt a familiar force pressing down on him.

"That 'Tatsumaki', you called her? Her ESP is a convenient power. I really do owe her quite a bit." 'Tatsumaki' said, restraining King with her own ESP. "If it wasn't for me learning this new ability, I probably would've died already."

"Oh, you can even replicate her ESP? Now I really am interested in you." King flashed a smile that unnerved 'Tatsumaki'. Despite being an ancient being that was over a billion years old... she feared this particular being.

"Unfortunately for you..." King flexed his muscles, which immediately broke the hold 'Tatsumaki' had on him. "I've dealt with it before."

"What the-" Barely a moment after the being blinked, she saw a fist directly in front of her face.

Moving forward a little bit, King bumped the copy of Tatsumaki on the nose. "Give up. With me this close to you, I could kill you ten times before you even move your arms or your ESP."

"...I only see one way for me to survive this." 'Tatsumaki' said, disabling the six mechanical arms behind her, as they fell onto the ground harmlessly.

"Ah, you've finally come to the conclusion that you should surrender?" King asked, hopeful. If anything, he didn't want to kill it. His future self would have a field day with this thing. Actually, now that he thought about it...

In the previous timeline where he was still weak, how did Tatsumaki deal with this thing? He definitely didn't help at the time. Was the future already changing based on his strength?

**[City Z...]**

"Man, these sales are amazing! I gotta thank that King guy for saving the city yesterday. If not, that weird monster would've blown up my favorite grocery store." A certain caped baldy said, picking up the crabs that were on sale. "150 yen for 200g of crabs? What a steal!"

Looking up, Saitama's sharp eyes caught another good deal. "400 yen for half a kilo of premium beef?! Are they crazy?! I better get some before someone else takes them!"

**[City P...]**

"Surrender? Unlikely. I've been experimented on, tortured, hunted, and had my life targeted for longer than your planet existed." The copy said emptily. "I'd rather it not end right here."

"Err, as I said before, I'm not planning to kill you." King sweatdropped. Even though he repeatedly emphasized that he wanted to bring it in alive, it somehow thinks that he wants to kill it?

"Whatever physical beings enslave me for, I've experienced all of it. Physical torture, sexual abuse, studies for scientific advancements, use as a tool of war? I've experienced them hundreds of times, so if you're not going to kill me... that's a relief to know, but I'd rather not experience that again."

"No, no, no. Look, I don't plan to do either of those things. Just come with me, alright?"

"...Fine." 'Tatsumaki' simply agreed, no longer putting up a resistance.

"Right then." King flashed a genuine smile. He honestly didn't want to kill it, it looked like Tatsumaki a bit too much, and killing what looked like a little girl, as well as a fellow hero didn't sit well with him- even if he already knew that it wasn't the real one. Also, those mechanical arms and their ability to replicate the real Tatsumaki's ESP? His future self would have a blast studying it.

"Hold on, I'll put this on you." Using his power from the Crown Of Creation, King materialized a leash and a collar. Though she seemed surprised at first by the sudden appearance of the leash and collar, 'Tatsumaki' didn't resist, as King put the collar on her, and tied it to his left wrist. "By the way, bring those arms with you." King pointed at the deactivated arms on the floor. The arms then glowed blue, as they floated behind 'Tatsumaki'.

"Here's the other two." King then handed it both of the arms he ripped off, as they affixed themselves back to where they were supposed to be. "Also, no funny ideas. If I even see you attempting to escape, I'll bind you so tightly even Shibari practitioners would be impressed."

Though she didn't know what those were, 'Tatsumaki' could feel a shiver up her newly-formed spine.

"Alright, I've dealt with the mysterious being, Tatsumaki." King waved to the real Tatsumaki. Walking towards her, she still had a blank expression on her face. "I'll take that, thanks." Taking his soda and the plastic bag, King took a sip out of his soda. "Ah, it's flat. Oh well." King then gulped down the rest of his soda and chucked the empty can into a nearby trash can that somehow stayed intact.

"...so long?" Tatsumaki mumbled.

"What was that?"

"What took you so long!?" Tatsumaki looked back up, tears in her eyes. "I! Almost! Died!" Kicking King in the shins without psychic power, King couldn't see the proud Rank 2 S-Class hero anymore.

All he could see was a little girl angry at his dad for being late.

...Not that he WAS her dad, what he meant was she was just acting like a kid. Then again, if she was to be believed, then if he came any later, she would've died.

"Hmm. I thought you would've been able to take care of it on your own, so I didn't think I needed to get here at all, really." King said simply.

"That's true... but still! Why didn't you come earlier?!"

"..." King simply remained silent.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

King looked over to his left and saw a rather large chunk of concrete. Then from Tatsumaki's point of view, King's free hand blurred, before the large chunk of concrete he was looking at suddenly fell apart, to form... a table and some chairs? Did he actually shape that huge block of concrete into a set of tables and chairs?

Setting down the plastic bag and opening it, King took out the box of donuts he bought earlier.

"Want one?" King asked, already biting down on a donut.

"..." Tatsumaki wordlessly sat down, took a donut, and nibbled on it.

"..."

"..."

"So, how was your day?"

"I almost died because a certain _someone _took his sweet time getting here."

"I was eating lunch," King told a half-truth. "I didn't really believe the part where I heard you needed assistance."

"That thing's plates could absorb ESP. Also, it's original form was a blue sphere inside a crystal, and those mechanical arms were armor plating the size of buildings."

"Ah, that explains why there was a lot more destruction than I expected from fighting something its size." King looked around at the destruction around him.

"By the way... why is that thing still alive?" Tatsumaki pointed at her copy.

"Research. If it can make me stronger, I'll keep even God-level threats alive." King simply responded.

"You can even deal with God-level threats? Well, aren't you quite the amazing hero," Tatsumaki said. "Aside from Blast, I don't think anyone can possibly say that can take on a God-level threat alone. And you still want to get stronger?"

"Well, I still need to go all out to defeat just one, I don't think I'm strong enough just yet," King said. And it was true. Even with all of his martial arts and all of his Crowns activated, he'd only barely scrape a win against a God-level threat. The only thing he could say was that he could at least get a consistent win against them. Then again, it was only against the lower-scale God-level threats.

God-level threats themselves were simply described as 'a threat endangering the survival of humanity in general'. Meaning, it could range from being able to wipe out humanity and humanity alone, some portion of the Earth, the entire planet, to the solar system, and so on. So far, with his current capabilities, he'd only ever so slightly be able to beat the weakest tier of God-level threats, the ones that aren't able to destroy the planet but are able to wipe out humanity.

"You want one?" King then offered a donut to the captive 'Tatsumaki'.

"I don't require any physical sustenance. I derive energy from the basest sources, such as heat, light, and so on." 'Tatsumaki' said, declining the donut.

"Speaking of which, stop mimicking me already! It pisses me off!" Tatsumaki said angrily, pointing at 'Tatsumaki'.

"...Well, I actually require having the same physical body as you for this to work." 'Tatsumaki' said strangely. Suddenly, the leash on 'Tatsumaki' burst, as she used ESP to create a massive dust cloud.

A stone then came flying towards the box of donuts, which King deflected. King also managed to cover the box of donuts in time before the dust cloud got to it.

As the dust cloud settled, King opened the box of donuts to check their condition. "Still okay... good."

"Hey, what're you doing?!"

"For my survival, forgive me."

"Get away- GYAAAH!"

Looking up to the source of the sound, King then saw both Tatsumaki's glowing in a greenish-blue light before a bright flash of light made King cover his eyes.

"Whatever your plan was, I don't appreciate you almost ruining the donuts." As the light settled, King created a new length of rope from his Crown Of Creation, made at least a hundred times stronger than the previous leash. "I make do on my threats. If you complain about the discomfort, know that you brought that onto yourself... uh. Hmm."

King then noticed a problem.

"Hey, what did you do?!"

"Hey, what did you do?!"

There were still two Tatsumakis... but they were now completely indistinguishable from one another, and the mechanical arms were deactivated on the ground.

"You think copying me will work?! Why you- stop copying me!"

"You think copying me will work?! Why you- stop copying me!"

...Well, he should've seen this coming.

"The only thing you've done is drag Tatsumaki into this. I'll find you out, one way or another." King said, motioning to both Tatsumakis. "I'm too lazy to play 'I'll hear you out and determine which is which," so I'll do some basic tests. If you've replicated Tatsumaki to the point even I can't differentiate between you, then..."

"Well, the easiest tests first. Both of you, eat a donut." King said, opening the box to show the remaining donuts.

"How's this supposed to help? And will you stop that already?!"

"How's this supposed to help? And will you stop that already?!"

Both of them asked at the same time.

"Well, according to what the copy said earlier, it doesn't need physical sustenance to survive. I don't know if that meant that it couldn't digest physical foods or that it's just unnecessary for it, but eh. I got these donuts at a discount after eating at the restaurant, so whatever. Even if this doesn't end up useful, I can just get more."

"I guess that could work- hey, quit it!"

"I guess that could work- hey, quit it!"

As both Tatsumakis annoyed each other, King simply sighed. Though he'd be happy to take the copy for research, dealing with this wasn't exactly fun, anyway. Well, it was amusing, at least.

"Anyway, I'll take this one-"

"Anyway, I'll take this one-"

Both Tatsumakis then laid their hands on the same donut, the candy apple-flavored one.

"Hey, I'm taking this one!"

"Hey, I'm taking this one!"

King couldn't help but crack a small smile. It was funny and adorable at the same time. It was like having twin daughters.

...But thinking of a fellow S-Class hero that's just a year younger than him as a daughter was creepy. Not to mention; you wouldn't be able to pay him enough to take care of Tatsumaki, anyway.

"Just split it, no need to fight over a donut." Before it escalated, King split the donut with a knife formed from his Crown Of Creation. He had to say, out of all his Crowns, this one was by far the most convenient for daily living.

Both Tatsumakis then ate their donut halves.

...After some time, there was still no visible reaction.

"Well, I guess that proves that it copied you enough to the point that it can eat foods normally." King shrugged. "We'll save the rest of the donuts for later."

"Alright, another test, then. Some time ago, I fought against four S-Class heroes. The real Tatsumaki was there. Who were the four S-Class heroes?"

"That's easy! Superalloy Darkshine, Silver Fang, Atomic Samurai, and- hey, how do you know that?!"

"That's easy! Superalloy Darkshine, Silver Fang, Atomic Samurai, and- hey, how do you know that?!"

Both Tatsumakis replied at the same time, which made King raise an eyebrow.

"Hmm, did it read your memories earlier, or directly copy them into itself?" King wondered aloud. "Anyway, this test should be final, and if that doesn't work, then I really only have one other way of testing who's who."

"But before that, I'm just gonna keep these mechanical arms somewhere," King said, picking up the mechanical arms and placing them in a bag formed with his Crown Of Creation. Honestly, the Crown Of Creation really was the most convenient power he had at his disposal right now.

Well, unless he could stop time. But he couldn't do that. Probably.

**[Heroes Association Headquarters...]**

"...and that's why we're here," King explained briefly to the receptionist at the City A Heroes Association Headquarters.

"T-That's... quite the experience, King. I'll need to notify the higher-ups about this, please wait a moment..." The receptionist dumbly said, unable to process what King tried to explain to her. All she knew was that it was definitely above her pay-grade. 'Just tell the higher-ups and pretend nothing happened' was the safety mechanism she implanted to not think too hard on it.

**[5 minutes later, The Medical Bay...]**

"Ah, King, good afternoon." A middle-aged man with grey hair and a bulbous nose greeted King. "To think that there was a Dragon-level threat capable of cornering the Rank 2 S-Class Hero Tornado Of Terror... and that one of the two Tatsumakis I see is that Dragon-level threat in disguise..."

"If I didn't hear that it was a report directly from you, King, I would've written it off as a joke. Anyway, the medical facilities are ready for use. We can test their biological data and see if it matches our records. We have a team of professional A-Class heroes on standby to hold the Dragon-level threat at bay for some moments in order for you to reach it before it escapes." The man said.

"No, there's no need. When the tests are done, just tell me the results while both of them are by my side." King said, patting both Tatsumakis on their shoulders. "At this distance, I can immediately destroy their spines before they can react, anyway."

That sentence immediately sent shivers down both Tatsumakis, well... spines.

"H-hey! What do you mean by destroying my spine?!"

"H-hey! What do you mean by destroying my spine?!"

"Don't worry. I won't break the real Tatsumaki's back. That'd be counter-productive. And if the copy doesn't resist, I won't hurt you, either. I'll still restrain you, though." King materialized a length of rope to prove his point.

"I-I see. But if you can do so, why not immediately kill the being when you had the chance? The previous report said that you had already defeated it and restrained it beforehand."

"Like I said; research. If I can get insight on how it does whatever it does, I'll get stronger."

"E-even with your strength, you still want to get stronger? Truly impressive, King. Anyway, if both Tatsumakis could come this way, the medical tests are prepared." The man said, the doors to the medical bay opening.

"Right then. By the way, whichever Tatsumaki is real, if the other attempts to escape, just restrain her for a short while. I'll be there in less than a second." King gave a thumbs up and a smile, which was completely untrustworthy.

"After that fight with it, my reserves of psychic power are almost completely emptied. I don't know if I'd even be able to hold it back- will you quit it already?!"

"After that fight with it, my reserves of psychic power are almost completely emptied. I don't know if I'd even be able to hold it back- will you quit it already?!"

The building then started shaking, as both of their powers flared up. But before anything could happen-

_*pull*_

"Owowowowowowwwww!" "Owowowowowowwwww!"

"Even if your ESP was weaker after the fight, it'd still be enough to destroy the building. Don't go fighting now, you hear?" King said, pulling both Tatsumakis cheeks.

It was comical, really. The Rank 2 S-Class Hero, Tornado Of Terror was being treated like a child by the Rank 5- well, now Rank 3 S-Class Hero, King. After reports came up that he defeated four other S-Class heroes, Superalloy Darkshine, Flashy Flash, Atomic Samurai, and Silver Fang, all the while the Rank 2 S-Class Hero was supporting them? The donations they collected increased almost threefold and King was now the most popular S-Class hero, aside from Blast, the number one hero, and Tatsumaki, the strongest Esper.

Chances were after it gets out that King managed to save the Rank 2 S-Class Hero Tatsumaki from a Dragon-level threat that almost defeated her? King was definitely going to take her place, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he were to take the number one spot from Blast, either. The people would rather trust a hero that they knew about with known exploits and strength, rather than just an elusive figure that practically never shows up.

"Whatever. Just get in there already," King said, pointing at the open door to the medical bay.

"Wait, how do we separate ourselves? How are the employees gonna keep track?"

"Wait, how do we separate ourselves? How are the employees gonna keep track?"

"Actually, we prepared a simple solution to this," Sitch said, holding up two slap bracelets. "I have a pink and a blue one. You can separate yourselves with that."

Both Tatsumakis then put on the slap bracelets and entered the medical examination room. King then took out the box of donuts and started eating one while watching both Tatsumakis undergo their respective tests.

"To be honest, I didn't think this was what I'd be dealing with today, King. If not for your help, I shudder to think what would have happened to Tatsumaki." The man with the bulbous nose said.

"Well, when I arrived, the fake had these mechanical arms floating behind it, and one of them was transformed into a needle. It seemed like it was about to pierce into Tatsumaki's forehead when I arrived, so it was probably something like mind-control, or just copying her memories before taking her place." King said, showing one of the mechanical arms to Sitch. "Still, great that I arrived when I did."

"I see. I'm Stich, Minister Officer of Justice, by the way." The man introduced himself, extending a handshake. King had met him before when he went to get his new S-Class ranking, but he didn't introduce himself at the time.

"Ah, I see." King returned his handshake and didn't show any other reaction, more attentive to the medical examination happening in the room. A blood test, retinal scan, x-ray, and the likes were performed on both Tatsumakis.

The look of confusion on the employees running the tests basically told King all he needed to know.

As both Tatsumakis walked out of the medical bay, one of the employees then handed a clipboard to Sitch and started talking to him, as his expression grew graver by the minute.

Sitch then approached King with the clipboard in hand.

"Err, it seems that our worst fears have been confirmed, King." Sitch sighed. "Both of them have the same results, meaning as far as we can tell, we aren't able to differentiate the real Tatsumaki from the fake. From their blood type, internals, and even their fingerprints are identical."

"I think I can help with that." A robotic voice sounded from behind King and both Tatsumakis. Turning around, it was a humanoid robot with three circular red marks on what would be its 'face'.

"Ah, Metal Knight. Fancy seeing you here." King said.

"While I'm more of an expert in robotics, I still have state-of-the-art medical facilities, much better than the ones here. If you'd like, you can visit me at my laboratory." Metal Knight offered. "And while you're there, you can help me out with something, as well..."

"No thanks. I have a feeling it basically replicated Tatsumaki down to every last cell, seeing as it could probably rearrange itself on the molecular level." King said. "I do however have one last way to test who's who."

"Oh? What is it?" Metal Knight asked.

"Eh... better for me to deal with it. Don't worry, _he _should definitely be able to tell them apart." King said. "Come on then, both of you follow me." King motioned for both Tatsumakis to follow him.

"Where're we going?"

"Where're we going?"

"To visit someone I know. But before that... well, it's a little troublesome to see him, so you'll have to wait at my place first."

"I see. A shame. I heard that you were here today, so I activated the drone I kept at headquarters in case of anything happening. Anyway, if you're free, King, could you visit my laboratory? I'd like your help with testing some weapons." Metal Knight asked.

"Err, sure. Maybe next time." King responded.

**[King's Apartment...]**

"Huh, you have a pretty ordinary place, King." The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet said.

"I assumed your place would be full of training equipment." The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet looked around.

"Hmm, both of you sure calmed down after I stopped the both of you from copying each other," King said.

**[15 minutes ago...]**

"You shut up! No, you shut up! Stop copying me! Urgh!"

"You shut up! No, you shut up! Stop copying me! Urgh!"

Both Tatsumakis seemed to be fighting with each other over them both saying things at the same time. Even King was getting a little annoyed at it.

"I have an idea. Both of you stop for a moment." King put down the apple he was eating, and created two ball-gags with the Crown of Creation.

...The Heroes Association-issue car was silent, even the driver had a weird look on his face.

"...It's not for anything weird, okay? Just put it on."

"Why?" "Why?" Both Tatsumakis asked.

"So both of you can keep quiet."

"Why me, though? Just give it to the other one- Stop copying me!"

"Why me, though? Just give it to the other one- Stop copying me!"

"..."

"Alright, point taken... but does it need to be a ball gag?"

"Alright, point taken... but does it need to be a ball gag?"

"We're in a Heroes Association-issue car with bulletproof black-tinted windows. No one will be able to see both of you."

"What about the driver?!"

"What about the driver?!"

Both Tatsumakis then pointed at the driver.

King then raised an eyebrow. "What driver? I don't see any driver."

"Huh? What do you mean-" The driver looked back, and saw the half-eaten apple in King's hand. King immediately crushed it, which sent the message to the driver loud and clear.

"Oh! Uh... Who're you talking to, King? There's only you back there!" The driver said, before turning to look at the road, a faceful of sweat.

"Any problems?" King asked, a smile on his face.

"...For a hero, you sure don't act like one."

"...For a hero, you sure don't act like one."

"Look who's talking, Miss I'll-Crush-Any-Other-Hero-In-5-Seconds." King deadpanned.

"They're just weak! I hate it when heroes act tough when they're really just weaklings!"

"They're just weak! I hate it when heroes act tough when they're really just weaklings!"

"It still isn't very heroic of you."

"Whatever! I just don't want to wear it! It's uncomfortable!"

"Whatever! I just don't want to wear it! It's uncomfortable!"

King then raised his eyebrow a second time. "How do you know if it's uncomfortable?"

Both Tatsumaki's faces reddened as they realized what they said.

"It just seems uncomfortable, okay?! Don't get any funny ideas!"

"It just seems uncomfortable, okay?! Don't get any funny ideas!"

"Whatever." King rolled his eyes. "If not the ballgag, then how about a cloth?" King dematerialized the two ballgags and materialized two pieces of cloth in their place.

"It'll still be uncomfortable!"

"It'll still be uncomfortable!"

"...some tape, then." King then materialized some duck tape.

"It'll hurt when you peel it off!"

"It'll hurt when you peel it off!"

King closed both his eyes, then took a deep breath.

"You know, I have something that isn't uncomfortable, won't hurt, and you can take it off anytime!" King said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Sensing King's annoyance, both Tatsumakis had a bad feeling.

They were proven right when King created two pacifiers.

"What?! No! I'm not putting that on! It's embarrassing!"

"What?! No! I'm not putting that on! It's embarrassing!"

Both Tatsumakis faces were the color of freshly picked tomatoes as they looked at the pacifiers in King's hands.

"I don't care anymore. The both of you were annoying enough when fighting with each other over the other repeating what you said when both of you are essentially arguing against yourselves." King said. "Either the both of you put this on, or I force it on." The pacifiers suddenly had plastic straps on them.

"...Can we go back to the duck tape?"

"...Can we go back to the duck tape?"

"No." Saying it with a face and tone of voice that allowed no room for discussion, both Tatsumakis defeatedly took a pacifier from King's hand.

"...You sure we need-"

"...You sure we need-"

The pacifiers suddenly stuck themselves to both Tatsumaki's mouths, as the straps tightened themselves.

"I can control whatever I create with an ESP-like force, did I mention that?" King said. No matter how the Tatsumakis tried to take them off, they wouldn't budge.

"The moment you use ESP to try and take it off, I'll assume its an attempt of the copy to escape, and I'll restrain you so hard bondage enthusiasts would be impressed," King said, which made both Tatsumakis give up taking off the embarrassing thing in their mouth and look at him with a face of defeated hatred.

"No, both of you have no say. If you're going to act like children, I'll treat you like children." King said, ignoring the gazes both Tatsumakis were sending him. If looks could kill, then King would actually have to dodge those attacks.

"What're you looking at? Keep looking at the road." King said, talking to the driver.

"Y-yes!"

**[5 minutes later...]**

"Okay, five minutes are up... I'll take yours off first." After five minutes, King took the Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet's pacifier off.

"Gah, it's finally off! Why'd it have to be a pacifier, anyway?!" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet said, her face still red from embarrassment.

"Mmmhmmm! Mmm!" The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet pointed at the pacifier still stuck in her mouth as if asking 'Hey, what about mine?!'

"Yeah, yeah, wait a moment," King said, before removing the Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet's pacifier.

"_Ptui! _Why was mine removed second?!" The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet complained.

"If I took both of them out at the same time, the two of you'll just continue talking in sync. If I separated them, then there was a chance that you two would finally stop talking at the same time." King explained. "See?"

Both Tatsumakis then realized that they weren't talking at the same time.

"Hey, you're right! You've finally stopped copying me!"

"What? No, YOU'VE stopped copying me!"

"No, you-"

King then held up both pacifiers ominously, which made both Tatsumakis shut up in fear of being humiliated further.

**[King's Apartment, present time...]**

"It worked, but it didn't change the fact that it was embarrassing!" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet said, her cheeks reddening again.

"Well, you were both acting like brats. If you were going to act like brats, I was going to treat you like brats." King shrugged. "Anyway, just wait over there. I'll go look for _that guy._"

"Hmph! Fine. Where are you going, anyway-" The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet stopped when she saw King took out a piece of paper. Pasting it onto a wall, a door then appeared, before King stepped into the doorway.

"...I didn't just see that myself, right?"

"No, I saw that too."

**[The time room...]**

The older King was reading a manga while relaxing on a lazy chair. It was about a year since his past self entered the time room, so he could expect him to return in 6 more years, which would just be six days on the outside. Who knows, he might come back with a different martial art or something. He had plenty of time, so incorporating new martial art styles into their self-made King Style was really the only thing he would do in his free time.

"Hey, future me, you there?" A voice he did not expect in six years sounded out, which surprised him.

Looking up from his lazy chair, he saw his past self walking on the street directly below the building he was on.

"I'm up here. You're here early. Did you find something interesting, or did a God-level threat appear?" The older King joked.

"Ah, there you are." Jumping up, King landed on the roof of the building his future self was on.

"Anyway, I have a question to ask," King asked. "About today-ish, did any Dragon-level threats appear in your timeline?"

"Today? Err, no, not today. I don't think so, anyway. Maybe there would be, but some other S-Class heroes took care of it. Why, did the timeline shift?" The older King asked.

"Well... I'll put it this way."

"There are currently two Tatsumakis outside, and one of them is an ancient being over a few billion years old."

"...sorry, come again?"

**[15 minutes (Inside the time-room) later...]**

"So you're saying that if that thing wasn't exaggerating, it's probably older than our planet." The older King took the thinking man's pose. "And it could replicate Tatsumaki's ESP?"

"Yep. I don't know if it has the same amount of reserves as Tatsumaki, but it's almost the same in terms of the ESP itself. I couldn't really tell the difference between them." King said.

"...Bring them in, then." The older King seemed unfazed.

"The fact that an ancient being older than the planet is right in my living room seems to not bother you too much," King said. "You've seen weirder?"

"I've destroyed different _universes_ before during the 50-year search of my world's Saitama. I've seen so many things that something like this is basically the norm for me at the time. On the other hand, the fact that something like that has appeared here, and now of all times worries me. If it's a sign that something worse is coming, we might need to up the ante on your training."

"Really? It seems like a coincidence to me." King said. "Maybe I exterminated a monster that was supposed to destroy it or something."

"That might be true. But if something like this happens again, it's pointing to something else going on. A third time basically confirms it." The older King shrugged. "Anyway, you can just bring them in no problem. As long as it's not a huge amount of people at once, it should be fine. I can cast memory-altering spells. And with those spells, I can just see which one's the real Tatsumaki."

"Well, I was counting on those magic spells of yours. Speaking of which, when do you start teaching me those spells?" King asked.

"This weekend. If there's no new martial arts or ninja styles, that is." The older King said.

**[Outside the time room...]**

"That door just appeared out of nowhere! Also, isn't the other side of that wall the hallway?!" The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet said.

"What is that?! Where'd he go?!" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet said.

All of a sudden, King came out of the door again.

"Alright, the two of you can come in."

"Where does that go?!"

"Where does that go?!"

Both Tatsumakis couldn't help but ask in unison. King had just put something on a wall which made a door appear out of nowhere, and after just three seconds, he came back out and said it was clear to go in?

"Oh, for- You know what, nevermind. When you meet him, he should be able to tell in a short while." King rolled his eyes, annoyed at the fact both Tatsumakis synced up again. "Just get in here."

Looking at each other, both Tatsumakis warily floated into the room King was in.

The glass chamber glowed green, as they were cleared to enter the room.

Both Tatsumakis walked into the hallway, noticing the different rooms. A bedroom, toilet, a room filled with training equipment- hey, he DID have training equipment! There was also what seemed to be a dining area, and at the end of the hallway was what seemed to be an opening to... the... city?

"Follow me," King said, motioning for both Tatsumakis to follow him.

As they walked into the 'city', both Tatsumakis immediately noticed the difference.

"This isn't the real city, right? The sky's all white!" The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet said.

"Where is this place?" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet asked.

"It's a mimicry of City Z. I use this place as a training ground of sorts against monsters," King said. "They're all just mimics, though."

"A training ground? Why does it look so untouched?" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet said skeptically. If King was using it as a training area, shouldn't the place look more destroyed? The city seemed to be in pristine condition. She could even say that it was cleaner than it was in reality. With King's strength, the only monsters that were worth training against were multiple Dragon-level threats or a God-level threat. Hell, with his level of strength? Chances were the scars on his face were from a God-level threat.

"Well, the city repairs itself automatically. On the other hand, there are some battlefields that take a lot longer to rebuild." King said. "Those are a little further in."

"Ah, we're approaching one now," King said, pointing ahead. Both Tatsumakis looked in front of King to see what seemed like the aftermath of a fight.

Multiple buildings were destroyed, pavements were cracked, and there were some things that didn't make sense, like a bus crammed into the side of a building and a telephone pole pierced through a sidewalk.

"It's been... almost three years since this place started reconstructing itself, I think. Look over there." King pointed at something.

Some of the broken buildings were slowly regrowing, like the reversed process of disintegration.

"Three years? It's pretty slow, then." The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet said. "Still, it's a lot less damage than I expected from a fight with you."

"Actually, I'd say it was pretty fast. Compared to its original condition, it's already repaired itself quite a lot." King said. "At the end of this specific battle, there were almost no buildings left standing."

"Ah, I see. Then it's actually repairing itself pretty fast... wait, there's something else I wanna know!" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap-bracelet said. "We just entered a door that appeared out of nowhere, entered a hallway that doesn't make sense, and the end of the hallway brought us to somewhere that looks like City Z! What is this place?!"

"It's the place where I train on the weekends," King said. "You know when I was learning martial arts a few weeks ago? I took the weekends to train here."

"I know that you train here! What I mean is- wait, the weekends? This is where you do your 'personal training'?" Both Tatsumakis then realized what King was pointing at.

Though Tatsumaki wasn't one to care about fellow heroes, the news about King mastering three different martial arts in just three weeks spread to the point even she heard about it. After some 'personal training', King had surpassed even the masters of the respective martial arts. Even Silver Fang's martial art, and he was one of the only heroes she respected, aside from Blast and King.

"In here, a year is just a day on the outside. So to be honest, it was kind of cheating, as I actually spent two years practicing each martial art." King said.

"Two years? That's still impressive! I don't do martial arts, but I know it takes a lot longer than that to fully master a martial art- Wait, a year here is just a day outside? That's cheating! Where'd you get this place?!" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet asked. Of the many things in life she could not bend to her whims with ESP, time was one of those things. And King just had a room that bent the flow of time by 365:1?

"Well, the guy that gave it to me is the guy that we're meeting now. Speaking of which, we're here." King said, arriving in front of a building.

"He's here? This just seems like a normal apartment." The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet remarked. After hearing of 'that person' that King described, she imagined that he would live in some big, showy place. Then again, King himself only lived in a regular apartment, and neither did she live in a place that fancy. The stronger people were, the less they cared for their residences, she supposed.

"Eh, he's mostly here for nostalgia. An old friend used to live here, according to him." King explained.

"An old friend? Live here? Isn't this the so-called 'ghost town' of City Z? It's abandoned, isn't it?" The Tatsumaki with the blue snap bracelet asked. "Who could possibly live here?"

"According to him, he was so strong that the monsters that popped up here didn't really pose a threat to him, anyway. It's like if you decided to live here, the monsters wouldn't really be anything to you, either."

"That's true... still, who is this person we're meeting? You still didn't explain anything about him!" The Tatsumaki with the pink snap bracelet asked.

"You'll meet him soon, no need to worry about it." King then walked up the stairs. Both Tatsumakis looked at each other and shrugged as they followed King.

"This one's the room, I think." King then stopped at a particular room. Both Tatsumakis then thought about the person's looks and who he could be. King's first master? A former enemy-turned-ally? A long-lost relative?

King then entered the apartment, both Tatsumakis floating behind him.

From the doorway, they could hear the sounds of a videogame being played.

"Hey, I brought both Tatsumakis here like you asked," King announced to the person in the living room of the apartment.

"I know. I detected your presence and theirs a kilometer away." A familiar voice responded from the living room.

"Even while playing a game, you detected us? You should really show me how to do that sometime soon." King said, which only cemented both Tatsumaki's suspicions.

_"Hold on, their voices sound almost identical..."_

"Meh, in five years. Anyway..." As the three of them entered the living room, they saw the person in question pausing the video game.

Turning to get up from his seated position, King's future self looked at both Tatsumakis with interest.

"Now then, what do you have for me?" The older King asked, rubbing his hands in eagerness.

**To be continue**


End file.
